Chaucer's Works, Volume 5 — Notes to the Canterbury Tales (part 3 of 3)

Chaucer's Works, Volume 5 — Notes to the Canterbury Tales (part 3 of 3)

76. The second syllable in after is rapidly pronounced, and thridde is a dissyllable.

78. thinges, pieces of music. Minstrelsy at feasts was common; cf. Man of Lawes Tale, B. 705; March. Tale, E. 1715.

80. The incident of a man riding into the hall is nothing uncommon. Thus we have, in the Percy Folio MS. ii. 486, the line--

'The one came ryding into the hall.'

Warton observes--'See a fine romantic story of a Comte de Macon who, while revelling in his hall with many knights, is suddenly alarmed by the entrance of a gigantic figure of a black man, mounted on a black steed. This terrible stranger, without receiving any obstruction from guards or gates, rides directly forward to the high table, and, with an imperious tone, orders the count to follow him--Nic. Gillos. Chron. ann. 1120.' Alexander rode into a hall up to the high table, according to the romance, ed. Weber, l. 1083. See also Warton's Obs. on the Fairy Queen, p. 202; the Ballad of King Estmere; and Stowe's Survey of London, p. 387, ed. 1599. In Scott's Rokeby, Bertram rides into a church.

81. stede of bras, &c. See note to I. 209, and vol. iii. pp. 465, 475.

95. Sir Gawain, nephew to king Arthur, according to the British History which goes by the name of Geoffrey of Monmouth, is always upheld as a model of courtesy in the French romances and the English translations of them. He is often contrasted with Sir Kay, who was equally celebrated for churlishness. See the Percy Folio MS.; Sir Gawain, ed. by Sir F. Madden; Sir Gawain and the Grene Knight, ed. by Dr. Morris; the Morte D'Arthur, &c. Cf. Rom. Rose, 2205-12.

103. Accordant, according. The change from the Fr. -ant to the common Eng. -ing should be noted.--M.

106. style, stile. Such puns are not common in Chaucer; cf. E. 1148.--M.

116. day naturel. In his Treatise on the Astrolabe, pt. ii. c. 7 (see vol. iii. p. 194), Chaucer explains that the day artificial is the time from sunrise to sunset, which varies; to which he adds--'but the day natural, that is to seyn 24 houres, is the revolucioun of the equinoxial with as moche partie of the zodiak as the sonne of his propre moevinge passeth in the mene whyle.' See note to B. 2.

122. the air, pronounced th'air, as usual with Chaucer; see D. 1939.

129. wayted, watched; alluding to the care with which the maker watched for the moment when the stars were in a propitious position, according to the old belief in astrology.

131. seel, seal. Mr. Wright notes that 'the making and arrangement [375] of seals was one of the important operations of medieval magic, and treatises on this subject are found in MSS.' He refers to MS. Arundel, no. 295, fol. 265. Solomon's seal is still commemorated in the name of a flower.

132. mirour. For some account of this, see vol. iii. p. 476, and note to l. 231.

137. over al this, besides all this. Elsewhere over-al is a compound word, meaning everywhere; as in Prol. 216.--M.

150. Compare Tale xv (The Ravens) in the Seven Sages, ed. Weber, about the child who understood the language of all birds.

154. and whom, &c., and to whom it will do good, or operate as a remedy; alluding to the virtues attributed to many herbs. So Spenser, F. Q. i. 2. 10--

'O who can tell The hidden power of herbes, and might of magicke spell!'

162. with the platte, with the flat side of it; see l. 164. Cf. Troil. iv. 927.

171. Stant, stands; contracted from standeth; so also in l. 182. Cf. sit for sitteth in l. 179, hit for hideth in l. 512, and note to E. 1151.

184. 'By means of any machine furnished with a windlass or a pulley.' The modern windlass looks like a compound of wind and lace, but really stands for windel-as, variant of the form windas here used. The confusion would be facilitated by the fact that there was another form windlas (probably from wind and lace) with a different meaning, viz. that of a circuitous way or path; see note to Hamlet, ii. 1. 65 (Clar. Press). In the Promptorium Parvulorum, our word is spelt both wyndlas and wyndas; p. 529. The Mid. E. windas may have been derived from the Low-German directly, or more probably from the Old French, which has both guindas and windas. The meaning and derivation are clearly shewn by the Du. windas, which means a winding-axle or capstan, from the sb. as, an axle; so, too, the Icel. vindâss. In Falconer's Shipwreck, canto 1, note 3, the word windlass is used in the sense of capstan.

190. gauren, gaze, stare. Used again by Chaucer, A. 3827, B. 3559, and in Troil. and Cres. ii. 1157 (vol. ii. p. 225). In the Clerkes Tale (E. 1003), he has gazed. Mr. Wedgwood is perhaps right in considering gaze and gaure (also spelt gare) as mere variations of the same word. Cf. the adj. garish, i. e. staring, in Milton, Il Pens. 141. For the occasional change of s to r, see my Principles of Eng. Etymology, i. 379.

gauring, i. e. stupor, occurs in Batman upon Bartholomè, lib. vii. c. 7.

193. Lumbardye, Lombardy, formerly celebrated for horses. Tyrwhitt quotes from a patent in Rymer, 2 Edw. II--'De dextrariis in Lumbardiâ emendis,' i. e. of horses to be bought in Lombardy.

195. Poileys, Apulian. Apulia was called Poille or Poile in Old French, and even in Middle English; the phrase 'king of Poile' occurs in the Seven Sages (ed. Weber), l. 2019. It was celebrated for [376] its horses. Tyrwhitt quotes from MS. James vi. 142 (Bodleian Library), a passage in which Richard, archbishop of Armagh, in the fourteenth century, has the words--'nec mulus Hispaniae, nec dextrarius Apuliae, nec repedo Æthiopiae, nec elephantus Asiae, nec camelus Syriae.' Chaucer ascribes strength and size to the horses of Lombardy, and high breeding to those of Apulia.

200. goon, i. e. move, go about, have motion.

201. of Fairye, of fairy origin, magical. I do not subscribe to Warton's opinion (Obs. on Faerie Queene, p. 86) that this necessarily means that it was 'the work of the devil.' Cf. the same expression in Piers Pl. B. prol. 6.

203. Compare the Latin proverb--'quot homines, tot sententiae.' See Hazlitt's Eng. Proverbs, pp. 340, 437. A good epigram on this proverb is given in Camden's Remaines concerning Britaine, ed. 1657, sig. Gg.

'So many heads, so many wits--fie, fie! Is't not a shame for Proverbs thus to lie? My selfe, though my acquaintance be but small, Know many heads that have no wit at all.'

207. the Pegasee, Pegasus. In the margin of MSS. E. Hn. Hl. is written 'i. equs Pegaseus,' meaning 'id est, equus Pegaseus'; shewing that Chaucer was thinking of the adjective Pegaseus rather than of the sb. Pegasus, the name of the celebrated winged horse of Bellerophon and of the Muses. Cf. Lydgate's Complaint of the Black Knight, l. 92.

209. 'Or else it was the horse of the Greek named Sinon.' This very singular-looking construction is really common in Middle English; yet the scribe of the Harleian MS. actually writes 'the Grekissch hors Synon,' which makes Sinon the name of the horse; and this odd blunder is retained in the editions by Wright, Bell, and Morris. The best way of clearing up the difficulty is by noting similar examples; a few of which are here appended:--

'The kinges meting Pharao';

i. e. the dream of King Pharaoh; Book of the Duchesse, l. 282.

'The erles wif Alein';

i. e. the wife of earl Alein; Rob. of Gloucester, in Spec. of Eng., ed. Morris and Skeat, p. 11, l. 303.

'Themperours moder william,'

i. e. the mother of the Emperor named William; Will. of Palerne, l. 5437.

'Pieres pardon þe plowman';

i. e. the pardon of Piers the Plowman; P. Pl. B. xix. 182.

'In Piers berne þe plowman';

i. e. in the barn of Piers the Plowman; id. xix. 354.

'For Piers loue þe plowman';

i. e. for love of Piers the Plowman; id. xx. 76. Chaucer again alludes [377] to Sinon in the House of Fame, i. 152, and in the Legend of Good Women, Dido, 8; which shews that he took that legend partly from Vergil, Aen. ii. 195. But note that Chaucer here compares a horse of brass to the Trojan horse; this is because the latter was also said to have been of brass, not by Vergil, but by Guido delle Colonne; see note to l. 211. This is why Gower, in his Confess. Amant. bk. i., and Caxton, in his Recuyell of the Historyes of Troy, both speak of the Trojan horse as a 'horse of brass'; see Spec. of English, 1394-1579, ed. Skeat, p. 91, l. 67.

211. olde gestes, old accounts. The account of the taking of Troy most valued in the middle ages was not that by Vergil or Homer, but the Latin prose story written in 1287 by Guido delle Colonne, who obtained a great reputation very cheaply, since he borrowed his work almost entirely from an old French Roman de Troie, written by Benoit de Sainte-Maure. See the preface to The Gest Hystoriale of the Destruction of Troy, ed. Panton and Donaldson (Early English Text Society). And see vol. ii. p. lxi.

219. Iogelours, jugglers. See the quotation from Marco Polo, i. 340, in vol. iii. p. 473; and cf. The Franklin's Tale, F. 1140-1151, and the notes.

223. comprehende; so in the MSS. But read comprende; see Troil. iii. 1687; and pronounce lew-ed-nes fully.

224. 'They are very prone to put down things to the worst cause.'

226. maister-tour, principal tower, the donjon or keep-tower. So also maistre strete, principal street, Kn. Ta. 2044 (A. 2902); maister temple, Leg. of Good Women, l. 1016.

230. For slye, MS. Hl. has heigh, an inferior reading. Mr. Marsh observes upon this line--'This reasoning reminds one of the popular explanation of table-turning and kindred mysteries. Persons who cannot detect the trick ... ascribe the alleged facts to electricity.... Men love to cheat themselves with hard words, and indolence often accepts the name of a phenomenon as a substitute for the reason of it'; Origin and Progress of the English Language, Lect. ix. p. 427.

231. The magic mirror in Rome was said to have been set up there by Vergil, who was at one time reverenced, not as a poet, but as a great enchanter. The story occurs in the Seven Sages, in the Introduction to his edition of which Mr. Wright says, at p. lix., 'The story of Virgil's tower, which was called salvatio Romae, holds rather a conspicuous place in the legendary history of the magician. Such a tower is first mentioned, but without the name of Virgil, in a Latin MS. of the eighth century, in a passage published by Docen and republished by Keller, in his introduction to the Sept Sages. Vincent of Beauvais, in the thirteenth century ... describes Virgil's tower; and it is the subject of a chapter in the legendary history of Virgilius.' See also the other version of the Seven Sages edited by Weber, and reprinted in Mätzner's Sprachproben, i. 254; where the mirror is mentioned. [378] Gower tells the story of this mirror in his Confessio Amantis, bk. v. It occurs also in the Chronicle of Helinand, and in the Otia Imperialia of Gervase of Tilbury; Morley's Eng. Writers, iv. 225. Warton notes that the same fiction is in Caxton's Troybook, bk. ii. ch. 22. It also occurs in Higden, Polychronicon, bk. i. c. 24.

232. 'Alhazeni et Vitellonis Opticae are extant, printed at Basil, 1572. The first is supposed by his editor to have lived about A.D. 1100, and the second to A.D. 1270.'--Tyrwhitt. Hole's Brief Biographical Dictionary has the notices--'Alhazel or Alhazen, Arabian Astronomer and Optician; died A.D. 1038'; and--'Vitello or Vitellio, Polish Mathematician; floruit circa 1254.' See also the remarks in Warton (Hist. Eng. Poetry), on the Clerk's Tale. Alhacen (sic) is mentioned in Le Rom. de la Rose, l. 18234. In l. 18376 of the same, we find the very phrase: 'Par composicions diverses'; and again, in l. 18387: 'Par les diversités des angles.' Mirrors are there described at length. R. Scot, in his Discoverie of Witchcraft, bk. xiii. c. 19, declares that 'the wonderous deuises and miraculous sights and conceipts made and conteined in glasse, doo farre exceed all other.'

233. Aristotle, the famous Grecian philosopher, born B.C. 384, died 322. writen in hir lyves, wrote in their lifetime. Observe that writen is here the past tense. The pres. pl. is wryten; pt. s. wrat, wrot, or wroot; pt. pl. writen; pp. writen.

238. Thelophus. Telephus, king of Mysia, in opposing the landing of the Greeks in the expedition against Troy, was wounded by the spear of Achilles. But as an oracle declared that the Greeks would require his aid, he was healed by means of the rust taken from the same spear. Chaucer may easily have learnt this story from his favourite Ovid, who says--

'Telephus aeterna consumptus tabe perisset Si non quae nocuit dextra tulisset opem. Tristium, lib. v. El. 2. 15.

And again--

'Vulnus Achilleo quae quondam fecerat hosti, Vulneris auxilium Pelias hasta tulit.' Remed. Amor. 47.

See also Met. xii. 112; xiii. 171; Ex Ponto, ii. 2. 26; Propertius, Eleg. ii. 1. 65 (or 63). Or he may have taken it from Dante, Inferno, xxxi. 5; or from Hyginus, Fab. 101. Cf. Shak. 2 Hen. VI., v. i. 100.

247. Canaceës; four syllables, as in l. 631.

250. Great skill in magic was attributed in the middle ages to Moses and Solomon, especially by the Arabs. Moses was supposed to have learnt magic from the Egyptians; cf. Acts vii. 22; Exod. vii. 11. See the story of the Fisherman and Genie in the Arabian Nights' Entertainments, where the genie invokes the name of Solomon.

253. 'Some said it was a wonderful thing to make glass from fern-ashes, since glass does not resemble fern-ashes at all.' Glass contains two principal ingredients, sand and some kind of alkali. For the latter, [379] the calcined ashes of seaweed, called kelp, were sometimes used; or, according to Chaucer, the ashes of ferns. Modern chemistry has developed many greater wonders.

256. 'But, because men have known it (the art of glass-making) so long, their talking and wonder about it ceases.' The art is of very high antiquity, having been known even to the Egyptians. so fern, so long ago; Chaucer sometimes rimes words which are spelt exactly alike, but only when their meanings differ. See Prol. l. 17, where seke, to seek, rimes with seke, sick. Other examples are seen in the Kn. Tale, see being repeated in A. 1955-6; caste in A. 2171-2; caas in A. 2357-8; and fare in A. 2435-6. Imperfect rimes like disport, port, Prol. 137, 138, are common; see Prol. 241, 433, 519, 579, 599, 613, 811; Kn. Ta. 379, 381 (A. 1237, 1239), &c. For examples of fern compare--

'Ye, farewel al the snow of ferne yere,'

i. e. good bye to all last year's snow; Troil. and Cres. v. 1176 (see vol. ii. p. 394). So also fernyere, long ago, in P. Pl. B. v. 440; spelt uernyere, in Ayenbite of Inwyt, ed. Morris, p. 92. Adverbs commonly terminate in -e, but the scribes are right in writing fern here; see A. S. Gospels, Matt. xi. 21, for the forms gefyrn, gefern, meaning long ago. Occleve, in La Male Regle, 196, uses the expression fern ago, i. e. long ago; Poems, ed. Furnivall, p. 31. And in Levins's Manipulus Vocabulorum, ed. Wheatley, we find--'Old farne years, anni praeteriti, seculum prius.'

With these examples in view, we might interpret ferne halwes in Chaucer's Prologue, l. 14, by 'olden' rather than by 'distant' saints; yet the latter is decisively authenticated by a passage in his translation of Boethius, bk. ii. met. 7, where the expression 'renoun ysprad to ferne poeples, goth by dyverse tonges,' can only mean 'distant' peoples. Fern, in the sense of old, is explained at once by the Gothic fairnis, old; but, in the sense of distant, would seem to be corruptly and incorrectly formed, since the A. S. feorran, meaning far, is strictly an adverb, from the adjective feorr. But in course of time this adverb came to be declined as an adjective; see the examples in Stratmann, s. v. feorren.

258. Cf. 'What is the cause of thunder'; K. Lear, iii. 4. 160. The opinions of various ancient philosophers as to the cause of thunder are given in Plutarch's treatise, De Placitis Philosophorum ([Greek: peri tôn areskontôn tois philosophois]), lib. iii. c. 3. It was usually believed to result from the collision of clouds. 'Fulmina autem collisa nubila faciunt'; Isidore, Originum lib. xiii. c. 9. Cf. A. S. Leechdoms, iii. 281.

263. For a full explanation of this difficult passage, I must be content to refer the reader to Mr. Brae's edition of Chaucer's Astrolabe, pp. 77 and 86, and my own edition of the same (E. E. T. S.), p. lvi. The chief points that now seem tolerably certain are these.

(1) The Angle Meridional was an astrological term. The heavens were divided into twelve equal parts called 'mansions,' and four of [380] these mansions were technically called 'angles'; the angle meridional was the same as the tenth mansion, which was bounded on the one edge by the meridian, and on the other by a semi-circle passing through the N. and S. points of the horizon, and lying 30° to the E. of the meridian; so that, at the equinoxes, at any place situate on the equator, the sun would cross this portion of the sky between 10 A. M. and the hour of noon.

(2) Since this 'angle' corresponds to the end of the forenoon, the sun leaves the said angle at the moment of noon, and l. 263 means no more than 'it was now past noon.'

(3) The 'royal beast' means the king of beasts, the lion, and (here in particular) the sign of the zodiac named Leo. This sign, on March 15, in Chaucer's time, and in the latitude of London, began to 'ascend,' or rise above the horizon, just about noon. An additional reason for calling Leo 'royal' is because the principal star in the constellation is called Regulus in Latin, [Greek: Basiliskos] in Greek, and Melikhi in Arabic, all epithets signifying kingly or royal.

(4) But, before the Tartar king rose from the feast, the time past noon had so increased that the star called Aldiran, situate in Leo, was now rising above the horizon. In other words it was very nearly two o'clock. It may be added, that, by the time the whole of the sign had ascended, it would be about a quarter to three. Hence Chaucer speaks of the sign as yet (i. e. still) ascending.

The chief remaining point is to fix the star Aldiran.

Most MSS. read Aldrian, owing to the frequent shifting of r in a word; just as brid, for instance, is the old spelling of bird. But the Hengwrt MS. is right. The name Aldiran, Aldurin, or Aldiraan, occurs in the old Parisian star-lists as the name of a star in the constellation Leo, and is described in them as being 'in fronte Leonis.' The word means 'the two fore-paws,' and the notes of the star's position are such that I am persuaded it is the star now called [theta] Hydrae, situate near the Lion's fore-paws, as commonly drawn. The only objection to this explanation arises from the comparative insignificance of the star; but whoever will take the trouble to examine the old lists will see that certain stars were chosen quite as much for the sake of position as of brightness. When it was desired to mark particular points in the sky, bright stars were chosen if they were conveniently placed; but, failing that, any would serve the purpose that were fairly distinct. This is why, in a star-list of only 49 stars in MS. Camb. Univ. Lib. Ii. 3. 3, such stars as [delta] Capricorni, [delta] Aquarii, [delta] Ophiuchi, &c., find a place. The star Aldiran ([theta] Hydrae) was remarkable for rising, in the latitude of Paris, just before the splendid star [alpha] Leonis of the first magnitude, whose coming it thus heralded. That star is also found in the same star-lists, with the name Calbalesed, or 'the lion's heart'; in Latin, Cor Leonis; another name for it being Regulus, as stated above.

On the whole, we fairly suppose Chaucer's meaning to be, that before [381] the feast concluded, it was not only past noon, but nearly two hours past noon.

269. chambre of parements. Tyrwhitt's note is--'Chambre de parement is translated by Cotgrave, the presence-chambre, and lit de parement, a bed of state. Parements originally signified all sorts of ornamental furniture or clothes, from Fr. parer, to adorn. See Kn. Ta. 1643 (A. 2501), and Legend of Good Women; Dido, l. 181.' He adds that the Italians use camera de' paramenti in the same sense.

272. Venus children, the worshippers or subjects, of Venus. It merely means the knights and ladies at the feast, whose thoughts then turned upon love, because the season was astrologically favourable for it; cf. Kn. Tale, 1628, 1629 (A. 2486). The reason is given in l. 273, viz. that 'hir lady,' i. e. their lady or goddess, as represented by the planet Venus, was then situate in the sign Pisces. This sign, in astrology, is called the 'exaltation' of Venus, or the sign in which she exerts most power. Hence the expression ful hye, and the statement that Venus regarded her servants with a friendly aspect. In the Wyf of Bathes Prol. (D. 704), Chaucer has the line--

'In Pisces, wher Venus is exaltat.'

'Who will not commend the wit of astrology? Venus, born out of the sea, hath her exaltation in Pisces'; Sir T. Browne, Works, ed. Wilkin, iv. 382.

287. Lancelot, the celebrated lover of queen Guinever in the Arthur romances. Cp. Dante, Inf. v. 128.

291. 'The steward bids (them) to be quick with the spices.' Cf. Joseph of Arimathea, ed. Skeat, note to l. 698. And see vol. ii. 506.

300. Hath is here used like the mod. F. il y a, for which O. F. often has a only. The sense is--'there is plenty.' The idiom is borrowed from French, and the text is correct. (I owe this note to a friend.)

316. 'You must twirl round a pin (which) stands in his ear.'

318. 'You must also tell him to what place or country you wish to ride.'

334. Ryde, ride; so in the Six-text; Hl. has Byd, i. e. bid.

340. The bridle is here said to have been put away with the jewels. So also, when Richard I., in a crusade, took Cyprus, among the treasures in the castles are mentioned precious stones, golden cups, &c., together with golden saddles, bridles, and spurs; Geoffrey of Vinsauf, Iter Hierosol. c. xli. p. 328; in Vet. Script. Angl. tom. ii.

346. Tyrwhitt inserts that after Til, to fill up the line. It is not required; it is one of the many lines in which the first syllable is lacking.

347. 'Sleep, digestion's nurse, winked upon them, and bade them take notice, that much drink and exercise must require repose.' Cf. 2 Hen. IV., iii. 1. 6. Tyrwhitt supposes l. 349 to be corrupt; I do not know why.

351. To scan the line, retain the e in seyde, preserved by the caesura. [382]

352. By the old physicians, blood was supposed to be in domination, or chief power, for seven hours, from the ninth hour of the night (beginning at 8 P. M.) to the third hour of the day. Tyrwhitt quotes from a book De Natura, ascribed to Galen, tom. v. p. 327--'Sanguis dominatur horis septem, ab hora noctis nona ad horam diei tertiam.' Other authorities were pleased to state the matter somewhat differently. 'Six houres after midnight bloud hath the mastery, and in the sixe houres afore noon choler reigneth, and six houres after noon raigneth melancholy, and six hours afore midnight reigneth the flegmatick'; Shepheardes Kalender, ed. 1656, ch. xxix. Chaucer no doubt followed this latter account, which he may have found in the original French Calendrier des Bergers; see note to l. 51, p. 373.

358. fumositee, fumes arising from wine-drinking. See C. 567; and concerning dreams, see the Nonne Prestes Tale, 103-149 (B. 4113-59).

359. no charge, no weight; to which no weight, or no significance, can be attached.

360. pryme large; probably the same as fully pryme, Sir Thop., B. 2015, which see. It must then mean the time when the period of prime was quite ended; i. e. 9 A. M. This would be a very late hour for rising, but the occasion was exceptional.

365. appalled, enfeebled, languid; lit. 'rendered pallid,' cf. Kn. Ta. 2195 (A. 3053); and Shipm. Tale, B. 1290-2:--

'"Nece," quod he, "it oghte y-nough suffyse Fyve houres for to slepe upon a night, But it were for an old appalled wight,"' &c.

373. 'Before the sun began to rise'; i. e. before 6 A. M., as it was near the equinox.

374. maistresse, governess; as appears from the Phis. Tale, C. 72.

376-377. Though the sense is clear, the grammar is incurably wrong. Chaucer says--'These old women, that would fain seem wise, just as did her governess, answered her at once.' What he means is--'This governess, that would fain seem wise, as such old women often do, answered her,' &c. The second part of this tale seems to have been hastily composed, left unfinished, and never revised. Cf. l. 382.

383. wel a ten, i. e. about ten. Cf. Prol. l. 24.

386. four. The Harl. MS. wrongly has ten. There is no doubt about it, because on March 15, the day before, the sun was in the third degree of the sign; on the 16th, he was in the fourth degree.

387. It means--'and, moreover, the sun had risen but four degrees above the horizon'; i. e. it was not yet a quarter past six.

396. her hertes, their hearts. lighte, to feel light, to feel happy; an unusual use of the verb; but see F. 914. In l. 398, the sudden change to the singular she is harsh.

401. Again hastily written. Chaucer says--'The point for which every tale is told--if it be delayed till the pleasure of them that have [383] hearkened after (or listened attentively to) the former part of it grows cold--then the pleasantness of it passes off, on account of the prolixity in telling it; and the more so, the longer it is spun out.' Knotte is cognate with the Lat. nodus (written for gnodus), as used by Horace, Ars Poet. l. 191.

409. fordrye, exceedingly dry. The tree was white too, owing to loss of its bark. This reminds me of the famous Arbre Sec, or Dry Tree; see Marco Polo, ed. Yule, i. 119; Maundeville, ed. Halliwell, p. 68; Mätzner, Sprachproben, ii. 185.

428. faucon peregryn. 'This species of falcon is thus described in the Tresor de Brunet Latin, P. i. ch. Des Faucons; MS. Reg. 19 C. x. "La seconde lignie est faucons, qui hom apele pelerins, par ce que nus ne trove son ni; ains est pris autresi come en pelerinage, et est mult legiers a norrir, et mult cortois et vaillans, et de bone maniere" [i. e. the second kind is the falcon which is called the pilgrim (or peregrine), because no one ever finds its nest; but it is otherwise taken, as it were on pilgrimage, and is very easily fed, and very tame and bold, and well-mannered]. Chaucer adds that this falcon was of fremde lond, i. e. from a foreign country.'--Tyrwhitt.

435. ledene, language; from A. S. læden, leden, sometimes used in the sense of language, though it is, after all, a mere corruption of Latin, which is the sense which it most often bears. Thus, the inscription on the cross of Christ is said to have been written 'Ebreisceon stafon, and Grecisceon, and Leden stafon,' in Hebrew letters and in Greek and Latin letters; John, xix. 20. So also 'on Ledenisc gereorde,' in the Latin language; Beda, bk. iv. c. 1. Hence the word was used more generally in the sense of language; as, 'Mara is, on ure lyden, biternes,' i. e. Marah is, in our speech, bitterness; Exod. xv. 23. This extension of the meaning, and the form of the word, were both influenced, probably, by confusion with the sb. l[=e]od, people. The student should learn to distinguish this word from the A. S. l[=e]oð, G. lied, a song. Tyrwhitt notes that Dante uses latino in the sense of language; 'E cantine gli augelli Ciascuno in suo latino'; Canzone 1.

458. as dooth, so do, pray do. See Note to Cler. Tale, E. 7.

469. 'As verily as may the great God of nature help me.' Wisly, verily, is quite different from wysly, wisely; cf. Kn. Ta. 1376 (A. 2234).

471. 'To heal your hurts with quickly.' Note the position of with; and cf. l. 641.

474. aswowne = a swowne = on swoune, in a swoon.

479. Chaucer's favourite line; he repeats it four times. See Kn. Ta. 903 (A. 1761); March. Ta. 9860 (E. 1986); Prol. to Leg. G. W. 503. Also, in The Man of Lawes Ta. B. 660, we have it again in the form--'As gentil herte is fulfild of pitee.'

480. similitude is pronounced nearly as sim'litude.

483. kytheth, manifests. Cf. Rom. Rose, 2187-2238 (vol. i. p. 172).

490. 'And to make others take heed by my example, as the lion is [384] chastised (or reproved) by means of the dog.' The explanation of this passage was a complete riddle to me till I fortunately discovered the proverb alluded to. It appears in George Herbert's Jacula Prudentum (Herbert's Works, ed. Willmott, 1859, p. 328) in the form 'Beat the dog before the lion,' where before means in the sight of. This is cleared up by Cotgrave, who, in his French Dictionary, s. v. Batre, has the proverb--'Batre le chien devant le Lion, to punish a mean person in the presence, and to the terror of, a great one.' It is even better explained by Shakespeare, Othello, ii. 3. 272--'What, man! there are ways to recover the general again: you are but now cast in his mood, a punishment more in policy than in malice; even so as one would beat his offenceless dog to affright an imperious lion.'

499. Ther, where. The numerous expressions in this narrative certainly shew that the falcon was really a princess (cf. l. 559) who had been changed into a falcon for a time, as is so common in the Arabian Tales. Thus, in l. 500, the roche or rock may be taken to signify a palace, and the tercelet (l. 504) to be a prince. This gives the whole story a human interest.

505-506. welle, well, fountain. Al were he, although he was.

511. coloures, colours; and, in a secondary sense, pretences, which meaning is also intended; cf. l. 560. On dyeing in grain, i. e. of a fast colour, see note to Sir Thopas, B. 1917.

512. hit him, hideth himself. The allusion is to the well-known lines 'Qui legitis flores ... fugite hinc, latet anguis in herba'; Verg. Bucol. iii. 92. Cf. D. 1994; and Macbeth, i. 5. 66.

516. Read k[=e]p'th. MS. Hl. gives lines 514-6 thus:--

'Right so this god of loue, this ypocrite, Doth so his sermonys and his obseruaunce Under subtil colour and aqueyntaunce.'

517. sowneth in-to, tend to, are consonant with; see Prol. 307.

518. Cf. P. Plowm. B. xv. 109. Both passages are from Matt. xxiii. 27.

537. Chaucer clearly quotes this as a proverb; true man means honest man, according to Dogberry; Much Ado about Nothing, iii. 3. 54. The sense seems to be much the same as 'You cannot make a silk purse of a sow's ear,' or 'Once a knave, always a knave.' Compare the use of theef in Anelida, l. 161; also--

'Alas! I see a serpent or a theef, That many a trewe man hath doon mescheef; Knightes Tale, 467 (A. 1325).

548. The reading Troilus (in E. Hn.) must be a mistake, because he was not guilty of transferring his love to another; it was Cressida who did that, so that the falcon would take care not to refer to that story. Paris deserted Oenone for Helen, and Jason deserted Medea for Glauce. Lamech was the first to have two wives, viz. Adah and Ziilah; [385] Gen. iv. 23. The whole of this passage is a recast of Chaucer's earlier poem of Anelida, where Lamech is introduced just in the same way (l. 150).

555. Imitated, but not with good taste, from Mark, i. 7.

558. This line resembles Troil. ii. 637.

579. 'Whether it was a grief to me, does not admit of doubt.'

583. 'Such grief I felt because he could not stay.'

593. Chaucer has this expression again, Kn. Ta. 2184 (A. 3042); Troilus, iv. 1586. It was a common proverb. Shakespeare has it frequently; Two G. of Ver. iv. i. 62; Rich. II., i. 3. 278; King Lear, iii. 2. 70. An early example of it is in Matt. Paris (Record Series), i. 20:--'Vitam in tantam sanctitatem commutavit, faciendo de necessitate virtutem,' &c.

596. to borwe, for a security; borwe being a sb., not a verb. Cf. Kn. Ta. 360, 764 (A. 1218, 1622). Hence it means, 'Saint John being for a security,' i. e. Saint John being my security; as in The Complaint of Mars, l. 9. She pledges herself by Saint John, the apostle of truth; see 1 John, iii. 19, iv. 20. Lydgate has 'seint John to borowe' in his Complaint of the Black Knight, st. 2.

601. 'When he has well said everything, he has done (all he means to do).'

602. This is a common proverb; cf. Com. of Errors, iv. 3. 64; Tempest, ii. 2. 103; Marlowe, Jew of Malta, iii. 4.

607. From Boethius, De Cons. Phil. lib. iii. met. 2:--

'Repetunt proprios quaeque recursus Redituque suo singula gaudent.'

A few lines above is a passage answering to ll. 611-620, which in the original runs thus (cf. vol. ii. p. 56):--

'Quae canit altis garrula ramis Ales, caueae clauditur antro: Huic licet illita pocula melle, Largasque dapes dulci studio Ludens hominum cura ministret, Si tamen, arto saliens tecto, Nemorum gratas uiderit umbras, Sparsis pedibus proterit escas, Siluas tantum maesta requirit, Siluas dulci uoce susurrat.'

Chaucer repeats the example yet a third time, in the Manciple's Tale, H. 163. Moreover, Jean de Meun copied the whole passage in Le Roman de la Rose, 14145.

617-1223. Eight leaves are here lost in MS. Hl.

618. newefangel, i. e. eager for novelty; of four syllables, as in l. 89 of the Manc. Tale, H. 193. The word newefangelnesse will be found in the poem of Anelida, l. 141, and in Leg. of Good Wom., Prol. [386] 154. 'Be not newfangil in no wise'; Babees Book, ed. Furnivall, p. 51, l. 115; cf. p. 9, l. 13. And see the Balade against Women Unconstant, l. 1 (vol. i. p. 409).

624. kyte. Mr. Jephson notes that 'the kite is a cowardly species of hawk, quite unfit for falconry, and was therefore the emblem of everything base.'

640. Compare ll. 153-155, which shew that Canace knew what herbs to choose.

644. Blue was the colour of truth and constancy; hence the expression 'true blue'; cf. Cler. Tale, E. 254. Green (l. 646) signified inconstancy. Lydgate, in his Fall of Princes, fol. e 7, speaking of Dalilah, says--

'In stede of blewe, which stedefast is and clene, She louyd chaungys of many diuers grene.'

'True blue will never stain'; Proverb.

''Twas Presbyterian true blue'; Hudibras, i. i. 191.

Tyrwhitt draws attention to the Balade against Women Unconstant (in vol. i. p. 409), the burden of which is--

'In stede of blew, thus may ye were al grene.'

648. tidifs. The tidif is mentioned as an inconstant bird in Prol. to Leg. G. W. l. 154--

'And tho that hadde doon unkindenesse As dooth the tydif, for newfangelnesse,' &c.

Drayton uses tydy as the name of a small bird, Polyolb. xiii. 79; not the wren, which is mentioned five lines above. In a piece called The Parlament of Byrdes, pr. for A. Kytson, one of the birds is called a tytyfer; see Hazlitt's Early Pop. Poetry, iii. 177. Schmeller gives Zitzerl as the Bavarian name for a wren; but cf. E. tit.

649-650. These lines are transposed in Tyrwhitt's edition. Such a transposition makes the sense much clearer, beyond doubt. But I am not convinced that the confused construction in the text is not Chaucer's own. It is very like his manner. Cf. notes to ll. 376, 401.

667. Observe that Cambalo, if not inserted here in the MSS. by error, is quite a different person from the Cambalus in l. 656 (called Cambalo in l. 31). He is Canace's lover, who is to fight in the lists against her brothers Cambalo and Algarsif, and win her. Spenser (F. Q. iv. 3) introduces three brethren as suitors for Canace, who have to fight against Cambello her brother; this is certainly not what Chaucer intended, nor is it very satisfactory.

671-672. Some suppose these two lines to be spurious. I believe them to be genuine; for they occur in MS. E. Hn. Cp. Pt., and others, and are not to be too lightly rejected. The Lansdowne MS. has eight lines here, which are certainly spurious. In MS. E., after l. 672, the rest of the page is blank. The lines are quite intelligible, if we add the words He entreth. We then have--'Apollo (the sun) whirls up his chariot so highly (continues his course in the zodiac) till he enters the [387] mansion of the god Mercury, the cunning one'; the construction in the last line being similar to that in l. 209. The sun was described as in Aries, l. 51. By continuing his upward course, i. e. his Northward course, by which he approached the zenith daily, he would soon come to the sign Gemini, which was the mansion of Mercury. It is a truly Chaucerian way of saying that two months had elapsed. We may conclude that Chaucer just began the Third Part of this Tale, but never even finished the first sentence. It is worth noting that these two lines are imitated at the beginning of the (spurious) poem called The Flower and the Leaf; and in Skelton's Garland of Laurel, l. 1471.

THE WORDS OF THE FRANKLIN.

675. youthe is a dissyllable; observe the rime with allow the, i. e. commend thee, which is written as one word (allowthe) in several MSS.

683. pound, i. e. pounds worth of land.

686. possessioun, i. e. property, wealth. Cf. D. 1722.

688. and yet shal, and shall still do so.

THE PROLOGUE OF THE FRANKLIN'S TALE.

709. Britons, Bretons, inhabitants of Brittany. Observe Chaucer's mention of Armorik or Armorica in l. 729.

As to the existence of early Breton Lays, a fact which Ritson rashly denied in his anxiety to blame Warton (see Ritson, Met. Rom. iii. 332), the reader may consult Price's remarks in the latest edition of Warton, 1871, vol. i. 169-177. It cannot be doubted that the Lais of Marie de France were, in a large measure, founded upon Breton tales which she had heard or found recorded. Sir F. Madden refers us, for further information, to De la Rue's Essais sur les Bardes, &c., iii. 47-100; Robert, Fables Inédites, &c., i. clii-clix.; the Preface to Roman du Rénart; and Costello's Specimens of the Early Poetry of France, 43-49. The Lais of Marie de France were edited by Roquefort, Paris, 1820; and by Warnke, Halle, 1885. See further in vol. iii. p. 480.

721. Pernaso, Parnassus. The form is Parnaso in Anelida, 16, and Ho. of Fame, 521; see also Troilus, iii. 1810, and my note to Anelida, 16. A side-note, in the margin of E., shews that Chaucer is here quoting a part of the first three lines of the Prologus to the Satires of Persius.

'Nec fonte labra prolui caballino, Neque in bicipiti somniasse Parnasso Memini, ut repente sic poeta prodirem.'

722. Cithero, Cicero; spelt Scithero in E. Hn., but Cithero in Cp. Pt. Ln. The three latter MSS. stupidly insert ne before Cithero, thus destroying both sense and metre, and tempting Mr. Wright to make the purely gratuitous suggestion, that Chaucer did it on purpose (!), in order to make the Frankeleyn appear really ignorant.

723. I. e. he knows no 'colours' of rhetoric; cf. F. 511. [388]

THE FRANKELEYNS TALE.

729. Armorik, Armorica, the modern Brittany.

743. A note in Bell says this is meant 'ironically.' On the contrary, it is explanatory, and in perfect keeping with the context. Cf. l. 751, and the full discussion of the matter in ll. 764-790.

764. This passage is clearly founded on Le Roman de la Rose, ll. 9465-9534, a piece which is too long to be quoted. Compare, for example, ll. 9479-9482:--

'Car il convient amor morrir Quant amant vuelent seignorir. Amors ne puet durer ne vivre, Se n'est en cuer franc et delivre.'

Compare also ll. 8489-90 of the same:--

'Qu'onques Amor et seignorie Ne s'entrefirent compaignie.'

And see Kn. Ta., A. 1625-6. Spenser copies ll. 764-6 very closely; F. Q. iii. 1. 25. And see Butler, Hudib. iii. 1. 553-560; Pope, Eloisa, 76.

774. So in P. Plowman, C. xvi. 138, we find patientes uincunt. The reference is to Dionysius Cato, Distichorum lib. i. 38:--

'Quem superare potes, interdum uince ferendo, Maxima enim morum semper patientia uirtus.'

And again, in his Breves Sententiae, Sent. xl., he has:--'Parentes patientia uince.' But Chaucer's words agree still more closely with an altered version of Cato which is quoted in Old Eng. Homilies, ed. Morris, 2 Ser. p. 80, in the form:--'Quem superare nequis, patienter uince ferendo.' Compare the proverb--'uincit qui patitur'; also Vergil, Æn. v. 710; Ovid, Art. Amat. ii. 197, Am. iii. 11. 7, Am. i. 2. 10. See also Troil. iv. 1584.

792. This is from the same passage of Le Roman as that mentioned in the note to l. 764. Compare, for example, the following lines (9489-94), where serjant means 'servant':--

'Car cil, quant par amor amoit, Serjant à cele se clamoit Qui sa mestresse soloit estre; Or se clame seignor et mestre Sur cele que dame ot clamée, Quant ele iert par amor amée.'

801. Penmarch Point is a headland near Quimper, in the department of Finisterre; a little to the S. of Brest.

Tyrwhitt's derivation of this name, from pen, a head, and mark, a mark or boundary, assumes that mark is a Celtic word. No doubt pen represents Bret. penn (Welsh pen), a head, a promontory; but, instead of mark I can only find Bret. march (Welsh and Cornish march, Irish marc), a horse. In the sense of boundary, mark is Teutonic. [389]

808. Kayrrud, Caer-rud; evidently an old Celtic name. Caer is the Bret. ker, kear, a town; Welsh and Cornish caer, a fort, town. And perhaps rud is 'red'; cf. Bret. ruz, Welsh rhudd, Cornish rudh, red. It does not appear in the map.

Arveragus, a Latinised form of a Celtic name; spelt Aruiragus in Juvenal, Sat. iv. 127. Arviragus, son of Cymbeline, one of the fabulous kings of Britain, married a daughter of the Roman emperor Claudius; see Rob. of Glouc. l. 1450.

815. Dorigene; also a Celtic name. 'Droguen, or Dorguen, was the wife of Alain I.--Lobineau, t. i. p. 70.'--Tyrwhitt. Lobineau was the author of a history of Brittany.

830. Cf. 'Gutta cauat lapidem'; Ovid, Epist. iv. 10. 5.

861. Cf. 'That she ne hath foot on which she may sustene'; Anelida, 177.

867. In ydel, in vain. In P. Plowman, A. vi. 61, we have in idel, and in B. v. 580, an ydel, in the same sense. With this passage, cf. Boeth. bk. i. met. 5. 22; bk. iii. met. 9. 1-10.

879. Cf. 'a fayr party of so grete a werk'; Boeth. bk. i. met. 5. 38.

880. thyn owene merk, thine own likeness; cf. 'ad imaginem suam,' Gen. i. 27. It appears, from P. Plowman, B. xv. 343, C. xviii. 73, that the words merke and preynte (print) were both used of the 'impression' upon a coin. From a comparison of the Vulgate version of Gen. i. 27 and Matt. xxii. 20, we see that imago was used in the same way. This explains how merk came to mean 'likeness,' and how mark of Adam (in D. 696) came to mean 'all such as are made in Adam's likeness.' See that passage.

883. menes, means, instruments of Thy will. The sing. mene, in the same sense, occurs in P. Plowman, C. xvii. 96, and frequently in Sir Generides, where it is spelt meane.

886. 'All's for the best'; a popular rendering of Romans, viii. 28. Cf. Boeth. bk. iv. pr. 6. 194-6.

889. this, short for this is; as in many other places.

899. delitables, a good example of a French pl. adj. in s. So also royales, B. 2038. See my note to P. Plowman, C. x. 342.

900. ches, chess. Chess was played in England even before the Conquest, in the days of Canute. 'Tables' is another name for backgammon, and was called tabularum ludus in Latin. See Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, bk. iv. c. 2. §§ 4, 16.

913. The odour is to be read as Th'odóur.

918. At-after, after; as in F. 302.

938. Aurelius. Tyrwhitt remarks that 'this name, though of Roman origin, was common, we may presume, among the Britons. One of the princes mentioned by Gildas was called Aurelius Conanus. Another British king is called Aurelius Ambrosius by Geoffrey of Monmouth.' See Fabyan's History, pt. 1. capp. 93, 108.

942. With-outen coppe, without a cup. This expression means that he drank his penance in full measure, not by small quantities [390] at a time. It occurs again in the Prologue to the Tale of Beryn, ll. 306, 460.

948. Chaucer wrote such things himself; see Leg. of Good Women, 423, and the note. See also, in his Minor Poems, the Complaint of Mars, the roundel in the Parl. of Foules, 680; and the exquisite triple roundel called Merciles Beautè.

950. The syllables as a fu- form the third foot. Some MSS. have fuyre, i. e. fire (see the footnote); but hell is not the place where fire was supposed to languish. The reading furye, i. e. fury, also presents some difficulty, but we must take languish to mean 'endure continual pain.' This precisely agrees with Chaucer's language in Troilus, iv. 22-24.

We have already had a confusion between fury and fire in A. 2684. The reading furie is perfectly established by help of F. 448 (this furial pyne of helle), and by further comparing l. 1101 below.

951. Ekko, Echo. So in the Book of the Duch. 735. Chaucer probably took this from Le Rom. de la Rose, 1447; see the English version, ll. 1469-1538. But he had learnt, by this time, that the true original was Ovid (Metamorph. iii. 407). Hence the side-note in MS. E.--'Methamorposios'--(sic).

963. And hadde, and she had; with a sudden change of subject.

974. Madame is here trisyllabic; in l. 967, the last syllable is very light.

982. The -ie in Aurelie is slurred over; know-e is dissyllabic. Cf. l. 989.

992. Lok-e, for Lok-en, imper. plural.

993. The first foot contains Ye remoe-; and the final -e of remoev-e is not cut off. Otherwise, place an accent on the syllable re-.

999-1000. These two lines are placed lower down in Tyrwhitt's edition, after l. 1006, on the authority of three inferior MSS., viz. Harl. 7335, Harl. 7333, and Barlow 20. But the old editions agree with the best MSS., and nothing is gained by the change.

1018. A humorous apology for a poetical expression.

1031. A side-note in E. has--'The compleint of Aurelius to the goddes and to the sonne.'

1033. after, i. e. according to. The change of seasons depends on the sun's change of declination, which causes his position (called herberwe or 'harbour' in l. 1035) to be high or low in the sky. See note to l. 1058.

1045. In MS. E., Lucina is glossed by 'luna,' i. e. the moon; see A. 2085.

1049. Read knowen as know'n. All the six MSS. keep the final n; but Cp. Pt. Ln. drop the word that.

1054. more and lesse, greater and smaller, i. e. rivers.

1058. Leoun, the sign Leo. In l. 906, May 6 is mentioned, and the events recorded in ll. 906-1016 all belong to this day. Ll. 1019-1081 belong to the evening of the same day. But, in May, the sun is in [391] Taurus, and the moon, when in opposition, would be in the opposite sign, which is Scorpio; and we should expect the reading--'of Scorpioun.' As it stands, the text means:--'at the next opposition that takes place with the sun in Leo'; i. e. not at the very next opposition, with the sun in Taurus; nor yet after that, with the sun in Gemini or Cancer. The reason for the delay is astrological; for Leo was the mansion of the Sun, so that the sun's power would then be greatest; besides which, the sign Leo greatly increased a planet's influence; see A. 2462, and the note.

We may notice the various allusions in the above lines. In l. 1033, the sun's declination changes from day to day, and with it the solar power and heat; so that the vegetable kingdom fails or grows according as the sun's 'harbour,' or position in the ecliptic, causes his meridian altitude to be low or high (l. 1035). In l. 1046, the power of the moon over the tides is mentioned; and, in l. 1050, the dependence of lunar upon solar light. The highest tides occur when the sun and moon are either in conjunction or opposition; the latter is here fixed upon. If, says Aurelius, the sun and moon could always remain in opposition, viz. by moving at the same apparent rate (l. 1066), the moon would always remain at the full (l. 1069), and the spring-flood, or highest flood, would last all the while (l. 1070).

1074. Here Luna is identified with Proserpina; see note to A. 2051, where I have quoted the sentence--'Diana, quae et Luna, Proserpina, Hecate nuncupatur.' And see the parallel lines in A. 2081-2.

1077. Delphos, Delphi; Chaucer adopts, as usual, the accusative form. Ovid has Delphi, Met. x. 168; Delphica templa, Met. xi. 414.

1086. 'Let him choose, as far as I am concerned, whether he wishes to live or die.' whether is here cut down to whe'r, as frequently.

1088. Cf. 'And in his host of chivalrye the flour'; A. 982.

1094-1096. imaginatyf, of a suspicious fancy. doute, fear.

1110. This is the Pamphilus already referred to in B. 2746 (see note to that line). The poem relates the poet's love for Galatea. In the note to B. 2746, I have given the title of the poem as De Amore. Another title is--Pamphili Mauriliani Pamphilus, sive De Arte Amandi Elegiae. Skelton alludes to it also, and Dyce's note (in his ed. of Skelton, ii. 345) tells us--'It is of considerable length, and though written in barbarous Latin, was by some attributed to Ovid. It may be found in a little volume edited by Goldastus, Ovidii Nasonis Pelignensis Erotica et Amatoria Opuscula, &c. 1610.' Tyrwhitt quotes the first four lines, from MS. Cotton, Titus A. xx--'Vulneror, et clausum porto sub pectore telum,' &c. In the margin of E. is here written--'Pamphilus ad Galatheam,' followed by the line--'Vulneror ... telum.' Chaucer imitates this line in ll. 1111, 1112. And see Lounsbury, Studies, ii. 370.

1113. sursanure, a wound healed outwardly only. A F. word, from Lat. super and sanare. See soursanëure in Godefroy.

1115. But, unless. come therby, get at it, get hold of it.

1118. 'There was a celebrated and very ancient university at Orleans, [392] which fell into disrepute as the university of Paris became famous; and the rivalry probably led to the imputation that the occult sciences were cultivated at Orleans.'--Wright.

1121. 'In every hiding-place and corner'; cf. G. 311, 658.

1130. I here quote from my Preface to Chaucer's Astrolabe (E. E. T. S.), p. lix. 'The twenty-eight "moon-stations" of the Arabs are given in Ideler's Untersuchungen über die Bedeutung der Sternnamen, p. 287. He gives the Arabic names, the stars that help to fix their positions, &c. See also Mr. Brae's edition of the Astrolabe, p. 89. For the influence of the moon in these mansions, we must look elsewhere, viz. in lib. i. cap. 11, and lib. iv. cap. 18 of the Epitome Astrologiae of Johannes Hispalensis. Suffice it to say that there are 12 temperate mansions, 6 dry ones, and 10 moist ones.' The number 28 corresponds with the number of days in a lunation.

1132. Cf. Chaucer's remark in his Astrolabe, ii. 4. 36--'Natheles, thise ben observauncez of iudicial matiere and rytes of payens, in which my spirit ne hath no feith.'

1133. In speaking of the First Commandment, Hampole says: 'Astronomyenes byhaldes the daye and the houre and the poynte that man es borne in, and vndir whylke syngne he es borne, and the poynte that he begynnes to be in, and by thire syngnes, and other, thay saye that that sall befall the man aftyrwarde; but theyre errowre es reproffede of haly doctours.'--Eng. Prose Treatises of Hampole, ed. Perry, p. 9. So also in Religious Pieces in Prose and Verse, ed. Perry, p. 5.

1141. tregetoures, jugglers. Cf. F. 218, 219; Hous of Fame, 1260, and my note upon the line; also the same, 1277, and my note on it. From O. F. trasgeter, (Prov. trasgitar), answering to a Low Lat. transiectare, i. e. to throw across, cause to pass. Thus the original sense of tregetour was one who caused rapid changes, by help of some mechanical contrivance. See Marco Polo, ed. Yule, i. 342; and note 9 to Bk. i. c. 61; Cornelius Agrippa, on Juggling; Ritson, Anc. Met. Romances, vol. i. p. ccv; and the verses on the Tregetour in Lydgate's Dance of Machabre. Treget means imposture, juggling, deceit, in the E. version of the Romaunt of the Rose, 6267, 6312, 6825; and tregetrie means the same, 6374, 6382. (Not allied to trebuchet, as suggested by Tyrwhitt.)

1180. dawes, days; variant of dayes. The pl. dawes occurs here only; but dayes rimes with layes in l. 709 above, with delayes in l. 1293 below, and (in the phr. now a dayes) with Iayes, G. 1396, and assayes, E. 1164. Chaucer also has dawe, v., to dawn, riming with felawe, A. 4250, and awe, B. 3872. The variant dawes is due to the A. S. dagas, where the g is followed, not by e, but by a; hence we only find it in the plural. But it is not uncommon; it occurs in St. Brandan, ed. Wright, p. 5, l. 3; Havelok, 2344; King Alisaunder, ed. Weber, l. 1436; Gower, Conf. Am. ii. 113, where it rimes with sawes; &c.

1204. The use of our is graphic; it occurs in all six MSS. Tyrwhitt has the.

1222. Gerounde, the river Gironde; Sayne, the Seine. That is, all [393] the S.W. coast from the Gironde to Brest, and all the N.W. coast from Brest to Honfleur; thus including much more than just the W. promontory.

1224. Here ceases the gap in Hl., F. 617-1223.

1241. Accent mágicién on the first and last syllables.

1245. 'The sun grew old, and his hue was like that of latten.' For latoun, later latten, see note to C. 350. That is, the sun had a dull coppery hue, as in December, when it may be said to be 'old,' as it was approaching the end of its annual course. Cf. yonge sonne; A. 7.

1246. 'Who, when in his hot declination (i. e. in the sign of Cancer, when his northern declination was greatest) used to shine like burnished gold, with bright beams; but he had now arrived in Capricornus, where he was at his lowest altitude (i. e. at the winter solstice); and shone but dimly.'

In Chaucer's time, the sun entered Capricorn on December 13; see his Treatise on the Astrolabe, ii. 1. 12.

1252. In the margin of E. is written--'Janus biceps'; referring to 'Iane biceps' in Ovid's Fasti, i. 65; and 'Iane biformis,' id. l. 89. The allusion is to the approach of January, after the winter solstice. This season, as indicated in ll. 1253, 1254, is the time of Christmas and New-Year festivities, when wine is drunk from horns, and the boar's head appears at feasts. See Brand's Pop. Antiq., ed. Ellis, i. 484, for the carol sung at the bringing in of the boar's head as the first dish on Christmas day, as e.g. in the Inner Temple and at Queen's College, Oxford. He quotes from Dekker:--'like so many bores' heads stuck with branches of rosemary, to be served in for brawne at Christmas.'

Skelton speaks of 'Ianus, with his double chere,' i. e. face; Garl. of Laurell, 1515. Cf. Chambers, Book of Days, i. 19; and ii. 754; Spenser, F. Q. vii. 7. 41.

1255. 'Nowel,' i. e. 'the birthday,' or Christmas day. From O. F. noël (Prov. nadal); from Lat. natalem. Cotgrave quotes a French proverb:--'Tant crie on Noël qu'il vient, So long is Christmas cried that at length it comes.' Littré gives, as the second sense of Noël--'Cantique en langue vulgaire, ayant ordinairement pour sujet la naissance de Jésus-Christ, que l'on chante à l'approche de la Noël.' Hence 'to cry Noël' was to sing a Christmas carol; as was usual on Christmas eve. He further explains that 'Noël!' subsequently became a cry on any occasion of great rejoicing; so that, in this way, 'to cry Noël' meant to proclaim glad tidings. Hence the silly confusion of the word with 'nouvelles,' in the imaginative accounts of it given by some English writers.

1266. Read I n' can; see note to A. 764.

1273. 'The astronomical tables, composed by order of Alphonso X, king of Castile, about the middle of the thirteenth century, were called sometimes Tabulae Toletanae, from their being adapted to the city of Toledo. There is a very elegant copy of them in MS. Harl. 3647.'--T. [394] In Chaucer's Astrolabe, ii. 44. 16, we find:--'And if hit so be that hit [i. e. the time for which the change in a planet's position is being reckoned] passe 20 [years], consider wel that fro 1 to 20 ben anni expansi, and fro 20 to 3,000 ben anni collecti.' The changes in position of the various planets were obtained from these tables. The quantities denoting the amount of a planet's motion during round periods of years, such as twenty, forty, or sixty years, were entered in a table headed Anni collecti. Similar quantities for lesser periods, from one year up to twenty years, were entered under the headings 1, 2, 3, &c.; and such years were called Anni expansi, i. e. single or separate years. See Ptolemy's Almagest, lib. vi. and lib. ix.; and the note in vol. iii. p. 367.

1276. rotes, roots. The 'root' is the tabulated quantity belonging to a given fixed date or era, from which corresponding quantities can be calculated by addition or subtraction. Thus the longitude of a planet at a given date is the 'root'; and its longitude at another date, say twenty-three years later, can be obtained from the Toletan tables by adding (1) its change of longitude in twenty years, as given in the table of Anni collecti, and (2) its further change in three years, as given in the table of Anni expansi. Chaucer uses the term 'root' again in B. 314; and in his Astrolabe, ii. 44. 1; q.v.

1277. 'Centre' was a technical name for the end of the small brass projection on the 'rete' of an astrolabe which denoted the position of a fixed star (usually of the first magnitude). See Chaucer's Astrolabe, Fig. 2 (in vol. iii.); and Centre in the Glossary. 'Argument' is an astronomical term still in use, and means 'the angle, arc, or other mathematical quantity, from which another required quantity may be deduced, or on which its calculation depends'; New Eng. Dictionary.

In Chaucer's Astrolabe, § 44 of Part II. is headed--'Another maner conclusion, to knowe the mene mote and the argumentis of any planete.'

1278. proporcionels convenients, fitting proportionals; referring to a table of 'proportional parts,' by which fractional parts of a year can be taken into consideration, in calculating the motions of the planets.

1279. equacions, equations; probably here used in the sense of 'exact quantities.' Thus the 'exact quantity' of a planet's motion, during a given time, can be obtained by adding together the motion during the 'collect' years, the 'expanse' years, and the fraction of a year; see the last note.

1280. eighte spere, eighth sphere; cf. 'ninthe speere' in l. 1283. In the old astronomy (as explained more fully in the note to B. 295), there were nine imaginary spheres, viz. the seven spheres of the seven planets, the eighth sphere or sphere of fixed stars (supposed to have a slow motion from west to east about the poles of the zodiac, to account for the precession of the equinoxes), and the ninth sphere or primum mobile, which had a diurnal motion from east to west, and carried [395] everything with it. Alnath is still a name for the bright star [alpha] Arietis, of the first magnitude, which was necessarily situate in the eighth sphere. But the head of the fixed Aries, or the true equinoctial point, was in the ninth sphere above it.

The exact amount of the precession of the equinoxes (which is what Chaucer here alludes to) could be ascertained by observing, from time to time, the distance between the true equinoctial point and the star Alnath, which was conveniently situated for the purpose, being in the head of Aries. In the time of Hipparchus (B.C. 150), the distance of Alnath from the true equinoctial point was but a few degrees; but at the present time it is 'shove,' in longitude, some 35° from the same. (The readings thre for eighte in l. 1280, and fourthe for ninthe in l. 1283, given by Wright from MS. Hl., are of course absurd).

1285. firste mansioun, first mansion, viz. of the moon. It was called Alnath, from the star. In the margin of E. is written--'Alnath dicitur prima mansio lunae.' Cf. note to l. 1130; and see l. 1289. His object was, clearly, to calculate the moon's position; see l. 1287.

1288. 'And knew in whose "face" the moon arose, and in what "term," and all about it.' Each sign of the zodiac, containing thirty degrees, was divided into three equal parts, each of ten degrees, called faces in the astrological jargon of the time. Not only each sign, but each face, was assigned to some peculiar planet; hence whos means 'of which planet.' Besides this equal division of each sign, we find unequal divisions, called terms. For example, the sign Aries, considered as a whole, was called 'the mansion of Mars.' Again, of this sign, degrees one to ten were called 'the face of Mars'; degrees eleven to twenty, 'the face of the Sun'; and degrees twenty-one to thirty, 'the face of Venus.' Lastly, of the same sign, degrees one to six were 'a term of Jupiter'; degrees seven to twelve, of Venus; degrees thirteen to twenty, of Mercury; twenty-one to twenty-five, of Mars; and twenty-six to thirty, of Saturn. Of course, the whole of this assignment was purely fanciful, imposed at first by arbitrary authority, and afterwards kept up by tradition. Cf. l. 1293.

1311-1322. These lines form a 'Complaint,' quite in the style of the Compleint of Anelida, q.v. Thus, l. 1318 is like Anelida, l. 288:--'As verily ye sleen me with the peyne.' The 'complaint' of Dorigen begins at l. 1355.

1340. 'Other colour then asshen hath she noon'; Anelida, 173.

1348. 'She wepeth, waileth, swowneth pitously'; Anelida, 169.

1355. In the margin of E. is written--'The compleynt of Dorigene ayeyns Fortune.'

1367. Tyrwhitt remarks that all these examples are taken from book i. of Hieronymus contra Iouinianum. In fact, this reference is expressly supplied in the margin of E., at l. 1465, where we find--'Singulas has historias et plures, hanc materiam concernentes, recitat beatus Ieronimus contra Iouinianum in primo suo libro, cap. 39°.' There is a similar note in Hn., at l. 1395. [396]

On reference to Jerome, I find that the passages referred to are worthy of being expressly quoted, especially as Chaucer does not adhere to the order of the original. Moreover, most of them are quoted in the side-notes to E., with more or less correctness. I therefore give below all such as are worth giving.

1368. The passage in Jerome is as follows:--'Triginta Atheniensium tyranni cum Phidonem in conuiuio necassent, filias eius uirgines ad se uenire iusserunt, et scortorum more nudari: ac super pauimenta, patris sanguine cruentata, impudicis gestibus ludere, quae paulisper dissimulato doloris habitu, cum temulentos conuiuas cernerent, quasi ad requisita naturae egredientes, inuicem se complexae praecipitauerunt in puteum, ut uirginitatem morte seruarent'; p. 48. This story (quoted in full in MS. E.) refers to the excesses committed in Athens by the Thirty Tyrants, who were overthrown by Thrasybulus, B.C. 403.

1370. 'They commanded (men) to arrest his daughters.'

1379. Jerome has:--'Spartiatae et Messenii diu inter se habuere amicitias, intantum ut ob quaedam sacra etiam uirgines ad se mutuo mitterent. Quodam igitur tempore, cum quinquaginta uirgines Lacedaemoniorum Messenii uiolare tentassent, de tanto numero ad stuprum nulla consensit, sed omnes libentissime pro pudicitia occubuerunt'; p. 48. Cf. Orosius, i. 14. 1.

1380. Lacedomie, Lacedaemonia; as in C. 605.

1387. Jerome has:--'Aristoclides Orchomeni tyrannus adamauit uirginem Stymphalidem, quae cum patre occiso ad templum Dianae confugisset, et simulacrum eius teneret, nec ui posset auelli, in eodem loco confossa est'; p. 48. I suppose that Orchomenus is here the town so called in Arcadia, rather than the more famous one in Boeotia; for the district of Stymphalus is in Arcadia, and near Orchomenus.

1399. Jerome has:--'Nam Hasdrubalis uxor capta, et incensa urbe, cum se cerneret a Romanis capiendam esse, apprehensis ab utroque latere paruulis filiis, in subiectum domus suae deuolauit incendium'; Valerius Maximus has a similar story, lib. iii. c. 2. ext. 8; cf. Orosius, iv. 13. 3. Chaucer has already alluded to this story; see note to B. 4553.

1402. alle; Valerius Maximus merely says--'dextra laeuaque communes filios trahens.'

1405. Jerome says:--'Ad Romanas foeminas transeam, et primam ponam Lucretiam; quae uiolatae pudicitiae pudens superuiuere, maculam corporis cruore deleuit'; p. 50. In the margin of E. we find:--'primo ponam Lucretiam ... deleuit'; with the reading nolens for pudens. See also the legend of Lucretia in the Legend of Good Women.

1409. Jerome says:--'Quis ualeat silentio praeterire septem Milesias uirgines, quae Gallorum impetu cuncta uastante, ne quid indecens ab hostibus sustinerent, turpitudinem morte fugerunt; exemplum sui cunctis uirginibus relinquentes, honestis mentibus magis pudicitiam curae esse, quam uitam'; p. 50. MS. E. quotes this as far as 'Gallorum.' As Miletus is in Caria, perhaps Galli refers here to the Gallograeci or Galatae. [397]

1414. 'Xenophon in Cyri maioris scribit infantia, occiso Abradote uiro, quem Panthea uxor miro amore dilexerat, collocasse se iuxta corpus lacerum; et confosso pectore, sanguinem suum mariti infudisse uulneribus'; p. 50. MS. E. cites the first eight words of this, with the spelling Abradate; whence Chaucer's Habradate. Chaucer's account of Panthea's exclamation is evidently imaginary. The story is told at length in Xenophon's Cyropaedia, bk. vii. Abradates, king of the Susi, was killed in battle against the Egyptians. His wife Panthea slew herself with a dagger, and fell with her head upon his breast.

1426. 'Demotionis Areopagitarum principis uirgo filia, audito sponsi Leosthenis interitu, qui bellum Lamiacum concitarat, se interfecit: asserens quanquam intacta esset corpore, tamen si alterum accipere cogeretur, quasi secundum acciperet, cum priori mente nupsisset'; p. 48. E. quotes the first five words of this.

1428. 'Quo ore laudandae sunt Scedasi filiae in Leuctris Boeotiae, quas traditum est absente patre duo iuuenes praetereuntes iure hospitii suscepisse. Qui multum indulgentes uino, uim per noctem intulere uirginibus. Quae amissae pudicitiae nolentes superuiuere, mutuis conciderunt uulneribus'; p. 48. E. quotes the first six words, with the spelling Cedasii. The story of Scedasus ([Greek: Skedasos]) and his daughters is told at length by Plutarch, being the third story in his Amatoriae Narrationes ([Greek: erôtikai diêgêseis]).

1432. 'Nicanor uictis Thebis atque subuersis, unius uirginis captiuae amore superatus est. Cuius coniugium expetens, et uoluntarios amplexus, quod scilicet captiua optare debuerat, sensit pudicis mentibus plus uirginitatem esse quàm regnum; et interfectam propria manu, flens et lugens amator tenuit'; p. 49. E. cites a few words of this, with the spelling Nichanor. The reference is to the taking of Thebes by Alexander, B.C. 336. Nicanor was one of his officers.

1434. This story, in Jerome, immediately follows the former:--'Narrant scriptores Graeci et aliam Thebanam uirginem, quam hostis Macedo corruperat, dissimulasse paulisper dolorem, et uiolatorem uirginitatis suae iugulasse postea dormientem; seque interfecisse gladio, ut nec uiuere uoluerit post perditam castitatem, nec ante mori, quàm sui ultrix existeret.' E. quotes a few words of this.

1437. Chaucer has translated here very literally. For Jerome has:--'Quid loquar Nicerati coniugem? quae impatiens iniuriae uiri, mortem sibi ipsa consciuit; ne triginta tyrannorum, quos Lysander uictis Athenis imposuerat, libidinem substineret'; p. 49. Compare Plutarch's Life of Lysander. Niceratus, son of Nicias, was put to death by the Thirty Tyrants, who were imposed upon Athens by Lysander, B.C. 404.

1439. 'Alcibiades ille Socraticus, uictis Atheniensibus, fugit ad Pharnabacum [i. e. Pharnabazum]. Qui accepto precio à Lysandro principe Lacedaemoniorum, iussit eum interfici. Cumque suffocato caput esset ablatum, et missum Lysandro in testimonium caedis expletae, reliqua pars corporis iacebat insepulta. Sola igitur concubina [398] contra crudelissimi hostis imperium inter extraneos et imminente discrimine, funeri iusta persoluit; mori parata pro mortuo, quem uiuum dilexerat'; pp. 49, 50. E. quotes the first four words. See Plutarch's Life of Alcibiades; or the extracts from it in my edition of 'Shakespeare's Plutarch,' p. 304. The woman's name was Timandra; cf. Timon of Athens, iv. 3.

1442-4. Jerome says:--'Alcestin fabulae ferunt pro Admeto sponte defunctam, et Penelopes pudicitia Homeri carmen est'; p. 50. Quoted in E., with the spellings Alcesten, Adameto, and Omeri. Cf. Legend of Good Women, l. 432, and the note; also vol. iii. p. xxix.

1445. 'Laodamia quoque poetarum ore cantatur, occiso apud Troiam Protesilao, noluisse superuiuere'; p. 50. E. quotes most of this, with the spellings Lacedomia and Protheselao. See Ovid, Heroid. Ep. xiii.; Hyginus, Fabula 243.

1448. 'Sine Catone uiuere Martia potuit, Portia sine Bruto non potuit'; p. 50. Partly quoted in E. The death of Portia is told by Plutarch, at the very end of his Life of M. Brutus.

1451. 'Artemisia quoque uxor Mausoli insignis pudicitiae fuisse perhibetur. Quae cum esset regina Cariae ... defunctum maritum sic semper amauit, ut uiuum, et mirae magnitudinis exstruxit sepulchrum; intantum, ut usque hodie omnia sepulchra preciosa ex nomine eius Mausolaea nuncupentur'; p. 49. E. quotes a part of this, with the spelling Arthemesia. There is an account of her in Valerius Maximus, bk. iv. cap. 6. ext. I. Hence comes our word mausoleum.

1452. Barbarye, barbarian territory, heathendom. Cf. 'the Barbre nacioun'; B. 281.

1453. Jerome says:--'Teuta Illyricorum regina, ut longo tempore uiris fortissimis imperaret, et Romanos saepe frangeret, miraculo utique meruit castitatis'; p. 49. Called Teutana by Florus, ii. 5. 2. Pliny says that Teuta, the queen of the Illyrians, put to death some Roman ambassadors; Nat. Hist. xxxiv. 6. 11.

1455. Tyrwhitt omits this line and the next. Both lines appear in the old editions; but they are omitted in all the seven MSS. except E. They are certainly genuine, because the names in them are taken from Jerome, like the rest. E. has the spelling Bilyea, but I alter it to Bilia (as in the old editions) because such is Jerome's spelling. The story is rather a long one.

'Duellius, qui primus Romae nauali certamine triumphauit, Biliam uirginem duxit uxorem, tantae pudicitiae, ut illo quoque seculo pro exemplo fuerit: quo impudicitia monstrum erat, non uitium. Is iam senex et trementi corpore, in quodam iurgio audiuit exprobrari sibi os foetidum, et tristis se domum contulit. Cumque uxori questus esset, quare nunquam se monuisset, ut huic uitio mederetur: Fecissem, inquit, illa, nisi putassem omnibus uiris sic os olere. Laudanda in utroque pudica et nobilis foemina, et si ignorauit uitium uiri, et si patienter tulit, et quod maritus infelicitatem corporis sui, non uxoris fastidio, sed maledicto sensit inimici'; p. 50. This Duellius or Duillius, [399] or Duilius, was the famous conqueror of the Carthaginians, in honour of whom the Columna rostrata was erected, to celebrate his naval victory, the first of that character ever gained by the Romans, B.C. 260. See Florus, Epitome, lib. ii. c. 2.

Hoccleve has this story in his De Regimine Principum, ed. Wright, p. 134. He turns Bilia into Ulye, because he got the story from Jacobus de Cessolis, who calls her Ylia.

1456. Jerome says:--'Rhodogune filia Darii, post mortem uiri, nutricem quae illi secundas nuptias suadebat, occidit'; p. 50. According to Erasmus, Rhodogune is mentioned in the Imagines [Greek: Eikones] of Flavius Philostratus.

Again (at p. 50) Jerome says:--'Valeria, Messalarum soror, amisso Seruio uiro, nulli uolebat nubere. Quae interrogata cur hoc faceret, ait sibi semper maritum Seruium uiuere.'

1457. Notwithstanding the length of Dorigene's complaint, Chaucer seems to have contemplated adding more examples to the list. For in the margin of E. is the note:--'Mem. Strato regulus. Vidi et omnes pene Barbares (sic); cap. xxvi^o. primi [libri]. Item, Cornelia, &c. Imitentur ergo nupte Theanam, Cleobiliam, Gorgun., Thymodiam, Claudias atque Cornelias; in fine primi libri.' All these names are in Jerome, who says: 'Imitentur ergo nuptae Theano, Cleobulinam, Gorguntem, Timocliam, Claudias atque Cornelias'; &c.

1470. as wis, as (it is) certain; cf. Ancren Riwle, p. 38; Ormulum, l. 2279, &c. Stratmann (ed. Bradley) gives the example also wis so he god is, as surely as he is God. Of course the i is short, as wis rimes with this. Cf. A. S. ge-wis, ge-wiss, Icel. viss, adj., certain, sure. And see wisly, i. e. certainly, in l. 1475.

1472. Referring to the proverb--'Let sleeping dogs lie'; or to one with the same sense. Cf. Troil. iii. 764.

1483. tel is here the right form of the imperative; see l. 1591. So in D. 1298.

1493-8. Of our seven MSS., only E. contains these six lines. They are omitted in most modern editions, except Gilman's. But they occur, as Tyrwhitt pointed out, in the second edition printed by Caxton. In l. 1496, Caxton has him for hir; which, perhaps, is better.

1502. quikkest, most lively, i. e. most frequented.

1503. boun, all ready, prepared; as she was boun implies that she had already set out, and was on her way. Preserved in mod. E., in the form bound, in such phrases as 'the ship is bound for New York.' See Bound, pp., in the New E. Dictionary. Cf. l. 1505.

1525. For which, for which reason, wherefore.

1529-1531. The phrases him were lever and I have lever are here seen to have been both in use at the same time. See, again, ll. 1599, 1600 below.

1532. Than I departe, than that I may part. So in all seven MSS. T. altered I to to.

1541. 'But let every woman beware of her promise.' [400]

1544. withouten drede, without doubt; as in B. 196. So also out of drede, E. 634; it is no drede, F. 1612.

1575. dayes, days of respite, time to pay in by instalments.

1580. To goon a-begged, to go a begging. Here begged is for beggeth, a sb. formed from the verb to beg. The spelling gon a-beggeth actually occurs twice in the Ilchester MS. of P. Plowman, C. ix. 138, 246. In the latter case, we even find gon abribeth and abeggeth, i. e. go a-robbing and a-begging. So in Rob. of Gloucester, l. 7710--'As he rod an-honteth,' as he rode a-hunting; and l. 9113--'he wende an-honteth,' he went a-hunting. This suffix -eth answers to the A. S. -aþ or -oþ. 'On f[=e]awum st[=o]wum w[=i]ciaþ Finnas, on huntoþe on wintra, and on sumera on fiscaþe'; the Fins live in a few places, by hunting in winter, and by fishing in summer; Ælfred's tr. of Orosius, 1. 1. In M. E. -eth was changed to -ed by confusion with the common suffix of the pp. See also the notes to C. 406, D. 354; and to P. Plowm. C. ix. 138.

1602. apparence, an illusion caused by magic.

1604-5. Corruptly given in MS. Hl. (note by Wright).

1614. I. e. 'as if you had just made your first appearance in the world.' An idiomatic allusion to the creeping of an insect out of the earth for the first time. It is obvious that there was nothing offensive in the phrase.

1622. as thinketh yow, as it seems to you. 'The same question is stated in the conclusion to Boccace's Tale; Philocopo, lib. v.--"Dubitasi ora qual di costoro fusse maggior liberalità," &c. The Queen determines in favour of the husband.'--T. The questions discussed in the medieval Courts of Love were usually of a similar character.

* * * * *

[401]

NOTES TO GROUP G.

THE SECOND NONNES TALE.

For general remarks on this Tale, see vol. iii. p. 485. Chaucer chiefly follows the Legenda Aurea; see note to l. 84 below, and to l. 25. It further appears that he consulted another Latin life of St. Cecilia, derived from Simeon Metaphrastes; as well as the Lives of Valerian and Tiburtius, in the Acta Sanctorum (April 14). See note to l. 369.

PROLOGUE. This consists of twelve stanzas, and is at once divisible into three parts.

(1) The first four stanzas, the idea of which is taken from Jehan de Vignay's Introduction to his French translation of the Legenda Aurea. This Introduction is reprinted at length, from the Paris edition of 1513, in the Originals and Analogues published by the Chaucer Society, pt. ii. p. 190.

(2) The Invocation to the Virgin, in stanzas 5-11; see note to ll. 29, 36.

(3) An Envoy to the reader, in stanza 12; see note to l. 78.

Line 1. Jehan de Vignay attributes the idea of this line to St. Bernard. He says--'Et pour ce que oysiuete est tant blasmee que sainct Bernard dit qu'elle est mere de truffes [mother of trifles], marrastre de vertus: ... et fait estaindre vertu et nourrir orgueil,' &c. Chaucer says again, in his Persones Tale (de Accidia), I. 710:--'And how that ignoraunce be moder of alle harme, certes, necligence is the norice.'

2. ydelnesse, idleness; considered as a branch of Sloth, which was one of the Seven Deadly Sins. See The Persones Tale, De Accidia.

3. Chaucer took this idea from the Romaunt of the Rose; see ll. 528-594 of the English version, where a lover is described as knocking at the wicket of a garden, which was opened by a beautiful maiden named Idleness. He afterwards repeated it in the Knightes Tale, A. 1940; and again in the Persones Tale (de Accidia), I. 714: 'Thanne comth ydelnesse, that is the yate [gate] of alle harmes ... the hevene is yeven to hem that wol labouren, and nat to ydel folk.'

4. To eschue, to eschew; the gerund. The sentence really begins with l. 6, after which take the words to eschue; then take ll. 1-3, followed by the rest of l. 4 and by l. 5. [402]

7. Jehan de Vignay's Introduction begins thus: 'Monseigneur sainct Hierosme dit ceste auctorite--"Fays tousiours aucune chose de bien, que le dyable ne te trouue oyseux."' That is, he refers us to St. Jerome for the idea. A like reference is given in the Ayenbite of Inwyt, p. 206. We are reminded, too, of the familiar lines by Dr. Watts--

'For Satan finds some mischief still For idle hands to do.'

8. Cf. Persones Tale (de Accidia), I. 714:--'An ydel man is lyk to a place that hath no walles; the develes may entre on every syde.'

10. 'Ydelnesse is the develis panter [net], to tempte men to synne'; Wyclif, Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 200.

14. Cf. Pers. Tale (de Accidia), I. 689:--'Agayns this roten-herted sinne of accidie and slouthe sholde men exercise hemself to doon gode werkes'; &c. 'Laborare est orare' was the famous motto of St. Bernard.

15. though men dradden never, even if men never feared.

17. roten, rotten; Wright reads rote of, i. e. root of. Yet his MS. has roten; observe its occurrence in the note to l. 14 above.

19. 'And (men also) see that Sloth holds her in a leash, (for her) to do nothing but sleep, and eat and drink, and devour all that others obtain by toil.' The reading hir refers to Idleness, which, as I have before explained, was a branch of Sloth, and was personified by a female. See notes to ll. 2 and 3 above. Tyrwhitt has hem, which is not in any of our seven MSS.

21. Compare Piers Plowman, B. prol. 21, 22--

'In settyng and in sowyng · swonken ful harde, And wonnen that wastours · with glotonye destruyeth.'

25. After the legende, following the Legend; i. e. the Legenda Aurea. A very small portion is wholly Chaucer's own. He has merely added a line here and there, such as ll. 488-497, 505-511, 535, 536. At l. 346 he begins to be less literal; see notes to 380, 395, 443.

27. St. Cecilia and St. Dorothea are both depicted with garlands. Mrs. Jameson tells us how to distinguish them in her Sacred and Legendary Art, 3rd ed. 591. She also says, at p. 35--'The wreath of roses on the brow of St. Cecilia, the roses or fruits borne by St. Dorothea, are explained by the legends.' And again, at p. 36--'White and red roses expressed love and innocence, or love and wisdom, as in the garland with which the angels crown St. Cecilia.' Red was the symbol of love, divine fervour, &c.; white, of light, purity, innocence, virginity. See ll. 220, 244, 279. The legend of St. Dorothea forms the subject of Massinger's Virgin Martyr.

29. virgin-es must be a trisyllable here; such words are often shortened to a dissyllable. The word thou is addressed to the Virgin Mary. In the margin of MSS. E. and Hn. is written--'Inuocatio ad Mariam.'

30. Speaking of St. Bernard, Mrs. Jameson says--'One of his most [403] celebrated works, the Missus est, was composed in her honour [i. e. in honour of the Virgin] as Mother of the Redeemer; and in eighty Sermons on texts from the Song of Solomon, he set forth her divine perfection as the Selected and Espoused, the type of the Church on earth'; Legends of the Monastic Orders, 2nd ed. p. 144. Cf. note to l. 58.

See a further illustration of the great favour shewn by the Virgin to St. Bernard at p. 142 of the same volume; and, at p. 145, the description of a painting by Murillo, quoted from Stirling's Spanish Painters, p. 914. See also Dante, Paradiso, xxxi. 102.

32. comfort of us wrecches, comfort of us miserable sinners; see note to l. 58.

do me endyte, cause me to indite.

34. of the feend, over the Fiend. Tyrwhitt reads over for of, but it is unneccessary. Accent victórie on the o.

36. Lines 36-51 are a free translation of a passage in Dante's Paradiso, Canto xxxiii. ll. 1-21; and are quoted in the notes to Cary's translation. I am persuaded that ll. 36-56 (three stanzas) were added at a later period. Being taken from Dante, they could hardly have been written very early; whereas the Life of St. Cecile seems to have been quite a juvenile performance. And this explains why the phrase 'Me, flemed wrecche' in l. 58 is so far removed from the parallel expression, viz. 'us wrecches,' in l. 32. Cf. note to l. 58.

l. 36. 'Vergine madre, figlia del tuo Figlio, l. 39. Umile ed alta più che creatura, Termine fisso d'eterno consiglio, Tu se' colei che l' umana natura l. 40, 41. Nobilitastì si, che il suo Fattore l. 41, 42. Non disdegnò di farsi sua fattura. l. 43. Nel ventre tuo si raccese l' amore, l. 44. Per lo cui caldo nell' eterna pace Cosi è germinato questo fiore. Qui sei a noi meridiana face Di caritade, e giuso, intra i mortali, Sé' di speranza fontana vivace. Donna, se' tanto grande, e tanto vali, Che qual vuol grazia, e a te non ricorre, Sua disianza vuol volar senz' ali. ll. 53, 54. La tua benignità non pur soccorre ll. 53, 54. A chi dimanda, ma molte fiate ll. 55, 56. Liberamente al dimandar precorre. l. 51. In te misericordia, in te pietate, l. 50. In te magnificenza, in te s'aduna Quatunque in creatura è di bontate.'

The numbers at the side denote the corresponding lines.

40. nobledest, didst ennoble; Dante's 'nobilitasti.' [404]

42. The translation is inexact. Dante says--'that its Maker (i. e. the Maker of human nature) did not disdain to become His own creature,' i. e. born of that very human nature which He had Himself created. Cf. l. 49.

45. 'Who is Lord and Guide of the threefold space'; i. e. of the three abodes of things created, viz. the earth, the sea, and the heavens.

46. out of relees, without release, i. e. without relaxation, without ceasing. Out of means without, as is clear from Prol. 487; Kn. Tale, A. 1141; and relees means acquittance (O. Fr. relais); see Cler. Tale, E. 153, &c. There has been some doubt about the meaning of this phrase, but there need be none; especially when it is remembered that to release is another form of to relax, so that relees = relaxation, i. e. slackening. The idea is the same as that so admirably expressed in the Prolog im Himmel to Goethe's Faust.

50. Assembled is in thee, there is united in thee; cf. Dante--'in te s'aduna.' This stanza closely resembles the fourth stanza of the Prioresses Prologue, B. 1664-1670.

52. sonne. By all means let the reader remember that sonne was probably still feminine in English in Chaucer's time, as it is in German, Dutch, and Icelandic to this day. It will be found, however, that Chaucer commonly identifies the sun with Phoebus, making it masculine; see Prol. 8, Kn. Tale, A. 1493. Still, there is a remarkable example of the old use in the first rubric of Part ii. of Chaucer's Astrolabe--'To fynde the degree in which the sonne is day by day, after hir cours a-boute.' So again, in Piers Plowman, B. xviii. 243.

56. hir lyves leche, the physician of their lives (or life).

58. flemed wrecche, banished exile. The proper sense of A. S. wræcca is an exile, a stranger; and thence, a miserable being. The phrase 'fleming of wrecches,' i. e. banishment of the miserable, occurs in Chaucer's Troilus, iii. 933. And see note to l. 36 above.

Lounsbury (Studies, ii. 389) compares this line with l. 62 below, and suggests that Chaucer may have been influenced here by an expression in St. Bernard's Works (cf. l. 30): Respice ergo, beatissima Virgo, ad nos proscriptos in exsilio filios Euae'; Tractatus ad Laudem Gloriosae Virginis; in the Works, vol. i. p. 1148, in Migne's Patrologia, vol. 182. This suggestion greatly strengthens the probability, that ll. 36-56 form a later insertion.

galle, bitterness. There is probably an allusion to the name Mary, and to the Hebrew mar, fem. mârâh, bitter. Cf. Exod. xv. 23; Acts viii. 23; Ruth i. 20. Cf. Chaucer's A B C, l. 50.

59. womman Cananee, a translation of mulier Chananaea in the Vulgate version of Matt. xv. 22. Wyclif calls her 'a womman of Canane.'

60. Compare Wyclif's version--'for whelpis eten of the crummes that fallen doun fro the bord of her lordis'; Matt. xv. 27.

62. sone of Eve, son of Eve, i. e. the author himself. This, as Tyrwhitt remarks (Introd. Discourse, note 30), is a clear proof that [405] the Tale was never properly revised to suit it for the collection. The expression is unsuitable for the supposed narrator, the Second Nun.

64. See James, ii. 17.

67. ful of grace; alluding to the phrase 'Aue gratia plena' in Luke, i. 28.

68. advócat, accented on the penultimate.

69. Ther-as, where that. Osanne, Hosanna, i. e. 'Save, we pray,' from Ps. cxviii. 25. See Concise Dict. of the Bible.

70. The Virgin Mary was said to have been the daughter of Joachim and Anna; see the Protevangelion of James, and the Legenda Aurea, cap. cxxi--'De natiuitate beatae Mariae uirginis.' Cf. D. 1613.

75. haven of refut, haven of refuge. See the same term similarly applied in B. 852, above. Cf. Chaucer's A. B. C., l. 14.

78. reden, read. This is still clearer proof that the story was not originally meant to be narrated. Cf. note to l. 62.

82. him, i. e. Jacobus Januensis. at the, &c., out of reverence for the saint.

83. hir legende, her (St. Cecilia's) legend as told in the Aurea Legenda. But cf. note to l. 349.

85. The five stanzas in ll. 85-119 really belong to the Legend itself, and are in the original Latin. Throughout the notes to the rest of this Tale I usually follow the 2nd edition of the Legenda Aurea, cap. clxix, as edited by Dr. Th. Grässe; Leipsic, 1850.

87. Several of the Legends of the Saints begin with ridiculous etymologies. Thus the Legend of St. Valentine (Aur. Leg. cap. xlii) begins with the explanation that Valentinus means ualorem tenens, or else ualens tyro. So here, as to the etymology of Caecilia, we are generously offered five solutions, all of them being wrong. As it is hopeless to understand them without consulting the original, I shall quote as much of it as is necessary, arranged in a less confused order. The true etymology is, of course, that Caecilia is the feminine of Caecilius, a name borne by members of the Caecilia gens, which claimed descent from Caeculus, an ancient Italian hero, son of Vulcan, who is said to have founded Praeneste. Caeculus, probably a nickname, can hardly be other than a mere diminutive of caecus, blind. The legendary etymologies are right, accordingly, only so far as they relate to caecus. Beyond that, they are strange indeed.

The following are the etymologies, with their reasons.

(1) Caecilia = coeli lilia (sic), i. e. hevenes lilie. Reasons:--'Fuit enim coeleste lilium per uirginitatis pudorem; uel dicitur lilium, quia habuit candorem munditiae, uirorem conscientiae, odorem bonae famae.' See ll. 87-91. Thus grene (= greenness) translates uirorem.

(2) Caecilia = caecis uia, i. e. the wey to blinde, a path for the blind. Reason:--'Fuit enim caecis uia per exempli informationem.' See ll. 92, 93.

(3) Caecilia is from caelum and lya. 'Fuit enim ... coelum (sic) per iugem contemplationem, lya per assiduam operationem.' Here lya is [406] the same as Lia, which is the Latin spelling of Leah in the Book of Genesis. It was usual to consider Leah as the type of activity, or the Active Life, and Rachel as the type of the Contemplative Life. See Hampole's Prose Treatises, ed. Perry (E. E. T. S.), p. 29, where the comparison is attributed to St. Gregory. 'Lya is als mekill at say as trauyliose, and betakyns actyfe lyfe.'

(4) Caecilia, 'quasi caecitate carens.' This is on the celebrated principle of 'lucus a non lucendo.' Reason:--'fuit caecitate carens per sapientiae splendorem.' See ll. 99-101.

(5) 'Vel dicitur a coelo et leos, i. e. populus.' Finally, recourse is had to Greek, viz. Gk. [Greek: leôs], the Attic form of [Greek: laos]. Reason:--'fuit et coelum populi, quia in ipsa tamquam in coelo spirituali populus ad imitandum intuetur coelum, solem, lunam, et stellas, i. e. sapientiae perspicacitatem, fidei magnanimitatem et uirtutum uarietatem.' See ll. 102-112.

113-118. Chaucer has somewhat varied the order; this last stanza belongs in the Latin to derivation (3), though it may serve also for derivation (5). It is probably for this reason that he has reserved it. The Latin is--'Vel dicitur coelum, quia, sicut dicit Ysidorus, coelum philosophi uolubile, rotundum et ardens esse dixerunt. Sic et ipsa fuit uolubilis per operationem sollicitam, rotunda per perseuerantiam, ardens per caritatem succensam.' For the swiftness and roundness of heaven, see note to B. 295. The epithet burning is due to quite another matter, not explained in that note. The nine astronomical spheres there mentioned did not suffice for the wants of theology. Hence a tenth sphere was imagined, external to the ninth; but this was supposed to be fixed, whereas the ninth sphere (or primum mobile) had a swift diurnal movement of revolution (note to B. 295), and thus supplied the two former epithets. The outermost sphere was called the empyraeum (from Gk. [Greek: empuros], burning, which from [Greek: en], in, and [Greek: pur], fire) where the pure element of fire subsisted alone; and it was supposed to be the abode of saints and angels. Milton, in his Paradise Lost, uses the word empyrean six times, ii. 771, iii. 57, vi. 833, vii. 73, 633, x. 321; and the word empyreal eleven times.

120. For some account of St. Caecilia, see vol. iii. p. 489. Compare also the Life of St. Cecilia as printed in the South-English Legendary, ed. Horstmann (E. E. T. S.), p. 490.

133. an heyre, a hair shirt. The usual expression; see I. 1052; and P. Plowman, B. v. 66. Lat. text--'cilicio erat induta.'

134. the organs; Lat. 'cantantibus organis.' We should now say 'the organ'; but in old authors the plural form is commonly employed. Sometimes the word organ seems to refer to a single pipe only, and the whole instrument was called 'the organs' or 'a pair of organs,' where pair means a set, as in the phrase 'a peire of bedes'; Ch. Prol. 159. In the Nonne Preestes Tale, B. 4041, Chaucer uses orgon as a plural, equivalent to the Lat. organa. On the early meaning of organum, see Chappell's Hist. of Music, i. 327. [407]

St. Cecilia is commonly considered the patroness of music; see Dryden's Ode for St. Cecilia's day, and Alexander's Feast, ll. 132-141. But the connexion of her name with music is not very ancient, as Mrs. Jameson explains. The reason for this connexion seems to me clear enough, viz. the simple fact that the word organis occurs in this very passage. Besides, St. Cecilia is here represented as singing herself--'in corde soli domino decantabat dicens'; see l. 135. The South-E. Legendary (see n. to l. 120) says she sang a verse of the Psalter.

145. conseil, a secret; Lat. 'mysterium.' And so in l. 192, and in P. Plowm. B. v. 168; see note to C. 819 above. and, if.

150. here, her, is a dissyllable in Chaucer whenever it ends a line, which it does six times; see e.g. B. 460; Kn. Tale, 1199 (A. 2057). This is quite correct, because the A. S. form hire is dissyllabic also.

159. me gye, rule me, keep me; lit. guide me.

173. Chaucer has here mistranslated the Latin. It is not said that the Via Appia (which led out of Rome through the Porta Capena to Aricia, Tres Tabernae, Appii Forum, and so on towards Capua and Brundusium) was situated three miles from Rome; but that Valerian is to go along the Appian Way as far as to the third milestone. 'Vade igitur in tertium milliarium ab urbe uia quae Appia nuncupatur.' See the South-E. Legendary, l. 37.

177. Urban. St. Urban's day is May 25. This is Urban I., pope, who succeeded Calixtus, A.D. 222. Besides the notice of him in this Tale, his legend is given separately in the Legenda Aurea, cap. lxxvii. He was beheaded May 25, 230, and succeeded by Pontianus.

178. secree nedes, secret necessary reasons; Lat. 'secreta mandata.'

181. purged yow, viz. by the rite of baptism.

186. seintes buriels, burial-places of the saints; Lat. 'sepulchra martirum.' It is worth observing, perhaps, that the form buriels is properly singular, not plural; cf. A. S. byrigels, a sepulchre, and see the examples in Stratmann. In P. Plowman, B. xix. 142, the Jews are represented as guarding Christ's body because it had been foretold that He should rise from the tomb--

'þat þat blessed body · of burieles shulde rise.'

The mistake of supposing s to be the mark of a plural was easily made, and the singular form buriel was evolved. This mistake occurs as early as in Wyclif's Bible, IV Kings xxiii. 17; see Way's note in Prompt. Parv. p. 37, note 1. Consequently, it is most likely that Chaucer has made the same mistake here. The South-E. Legendary (see note to l. 120) says that Urban dwelt 'among puttes and burieles.'

There is here a most interesting allusion to the celebrated catacombs of Rome; see Chambers, Book of Days, i. 101, 102.

lotinge, lying hid. In MS. E., the Latin word latitantem is written above, as a gloss. This was taken from the Latin text, which has--'intra sepulchra martirum latitantem.' Stratmann gives six examples [408] of the use of lotien or lutien, to lie hid. It occurs once in P. Plowman, B. xvii. 102.

201. An old man; i. e. an angel in the form of an old man, viz. St. Paul. Cf. note to l. 207.

202. with lettre of gold; Lat. 'tenens librum aureis litteris scriptum.' L. 203 is not in the original.

205. 'When he (Valerian) saw him (the old man); and he (the old man) lifted up him (Valerian); and then he (Valerian) began thus to read in his (the old man's) book.' This is very ambiguous in Chaucer, but the Latin is clear. 'Quem uidens Ualerianus prae nimio timore quasi mortuus cecidit, et a sene leuatus sic legit.'

207. Oo lord, one lord. Tyrwhitt prints On, 'to guard against the mistake which the editions generally have fallen into, of considering o, in this passage, as the sign of the vocative case.' For the same reason, I have printed Oo, as in MS. Pt., in preference to the single O, as in most MSS. Even one of the scribes has fallen into the trap, and has written against this passage--'Et lamentat.' See MS. Cp., in the Six-text edition. The fact is, obviously, that ll. 207-209 are a close translation of Eph. iv. 5, 6. Hence the old man was St. Paul.

208. Cristendom, baptism; Lat. 'baptisma.' See l. 217.

216. We must read the before oldë, not this or that, because e in the must be elided; otherwise the line will not scan.

223-224. that oon, the one; sometimes written the ton or the toon. That other, the one; sometimes written the tother. 'The ton' is obsolete; but 'the tother' may still be heard. That is the neuter of the A. S. def. article se, s[=e]o, þæt; cf. Germ. der, die, das.

As to the signification of the red and white flowers, see note to l. 27 above.

Compare Act v. sc. 1 of Massinger's Virgin Martyr, where an angel brings flowers from St. Dorothea, who is in paradise, to Theophilus. See note to l. 248 below.

232. for, because; Lat. 'quia.'

236. Afterwards repeated, very nearly, in Kn. Tale, l. 338 (A. 1196).

243. savour undernom, perceived the scent; Lat. 'sensisset odorem.'

246. Cf. the South-E. Legendary (see note to l. 120), l. 89.

'Brother, he seyde, how goth this? This tyme of the yere So swote smul ne smelde I neuere, me thinkth, as I do here.'

248. rose. We should have expected roses. Perhaps this is due to the peculiar form of the Latin text, which has--'roseus hic odor et liliorum.'

Compare the words of Theophilus in the Virgin Martyr, v. 1:--

'What flowers are these?' &c.

270. Ll. 270-283 are certainly genuine, and the passage is in the Latin text. It is also in the French version, but it does not appear in the Early English version of the story printed by Mr. Furnivall from MS. Ashmole 43, nor in the English version printed by Caxton in 1483; [409] nor in the version in the South-E. Legendary. Tyrwhitt's supposition is no doubt correct, viz. that this passage 'appears evidently to have been at first a marginal observation and to have crept into the [Latin] text by the blunder of some copyist.' He truly observes that these fourteen lines 'interrupt the narrative awkwardly, and to little purpose.'

271. Ambrose. 'Huic miraculo de coronis rosarum Ambrosius attestatur in praefatione, sic dicens,' &c. I cannot find anything of the kind in the indices to the works of St. Ambrose.

In the Sermons of Jacques de Vitry, a story is given beginning with the words--'Beatus Ambrosius narrat,' to this effect. St. Ambrose tells of a virgin going to martyrdom, who was asked by a pagan whither she was going. She answered: 'to see my friend, who has invited me to his wedding-feast.' The pagan, deriding her, said: 'Tell your friend to send me some of his roses.' Shortly after her death, a beautiful youth brought to the pagan a basket full of full-blown roses, saying, 'The friend of the woman, who just now passed by, sends you some of the roses you desired,' and then disappeared. The pagan was converted and himself suffered martyrdom. This is the story of St. Dorothea, whose day is Feb. 6; for which Alban Butler refers us to Aldhelm, De Laude Virginitatis, c. 25.

276. eek hir chambre, even hir marriage-chamber, i. e. even marriage. weyve, waive, abandon. Lat. 'ipsum mundum est cum thalamis exsecrata.' weyve occurs again in some MSS. of Chaucer's Truth, l. 20.

277. shrifte, confession. Lat. 'testis est Valeriani coniugis et Tiburtii prouocata confessio, quos, Domine, angelica manu odoriferis floribus coronasti.' For Valerians, all the MSS. have Cecilies. Whether the mistake is Chaucer's or his scribes', I cannot say; but it is so obviously a mere slip, that we need not hesitate to correct it. The French text is even clearer than the Latin; it has--'et de cest tesmoing Valerien son mary et Tiburcien son frere.' Besides, the express mention of 'these men' in l. 281 is enough, in my opinion, to shew that the slip was not Chaucer's own; or, at any rate, was a mere oversight.

282. 'The world hath known (by their example) how much, in all truth, it is worth to love such devotion to chastity.' Lat. 'mundus agnouit, quantum ualeat deuotio castitatis;--haec Ambrosius.' This is quoted as St. Ambrose's opinion. The parenthesis ends here.

288. beste, i. e. void of understanding, as a beast of the field is. Lat. 'pecus est.'

315. And we. Tyrwhitt remarks that we should have been us. But a glance at the Latin text shews what was in Chaucer's mind; he is here merely anticipating the we in l. 318. Lat. 'et nos in illius flammis pariter inuoluemur, et dum quaerimus diuinitatem latentem in coelis, incurremus furorem exurentem in terris.' The sentence is awkward; but we was intended. The idiom has overridden the grammar. Cf. the South-E. Legendary (see note to l. 120), l. 121:--

'Forberne he scholde, and we also, yif we with him were.' [410]

319. Cecile. This is one of the clearest instances to shew that Chaucer followed the Latin and not the French version. Lat. 'Cui Caecilia'; Fr. 'et Valerien dist.' Mr. Furnivall has noted this and other instances, and there is no doubt about the matter.

320. skilfully, reasonably; the usual meaning at this date. See l. 327.

325-332. Not in the South-E. Legendary.

327. 'And all that has been created by a reasonable Intelligence.'

329. Hath sowled, hath endued with a soul, hath quickened; Lat. 'animauit.'

335. o god, one God. We must suppose this teaching to be included in the mention of Christ in l. 295; otherwise there is no allusion to it in the words of Cecilia. The doctrine had been taught to Valerian however; see ll. 207, 208.

There are continual allusions, in the Lives of the Saints, to the difficulty of this doctrine.

338. Chaucer is not quite exact. The Latin says that three things reside in a man's wisdom, the said wisdom being but one. 'Sicut in una hominis sapientia tria sunt, ingenium, memoria et intellectus.' The notion resembles that in a favourite passage from Isidore quoted in Piers Plowman, B. xv. 39, to the effect that the soul (anima) has different names according to its functions. Compare the curious illustrations of the doctrine of the Trinity in the same, B. xvi. 220-224, xvii. 137-249. The illustration in the text is, as Mr. Jephson points out, by no means a good one.

341. The word Three stands alone in the first foot. See note to l. 353.

343. come, coming, i. e. incarnation; Lat. 'aduentu.' Tyrwhitt reads sonde, i. e. sending, message; but incorrectly.

345. withholde, detained, constrained to dwell; Lat. 'tentus'; Fr. 'tenu.'

346. Hitherto Chaucer's translation is, on the whole, very close. Here he omits a whole sentence, and begins to abbreviate the story and alter it to suit himself. See his hint in l. 360.

349. Here begins, practically, the second part of the story, in which the second Latin text is more freely consulted; see vol. iii. p. 488.

351. That, who. In MS. E. the word is glossed by--'qui, scilicet Vrbanus.' It is remarkable that the relative who (as a simple relative, without so suffixed) is hardly to be found in English of this date, in the nominative case. The A. S. hw[=a] is only used interrogatively. See March, Anglo-Saxon Grammar, p. 179.

353. goddes knight, God's servant, or rather, God's soldier; see l. 383, and the note. In the A. S. version of the Gospels, Christ's disciples are called 'leorning-cnihtas.' In the Ormulum and in Wyclif cniht or kni[gh]t sometimes means a servant, but more commonly a soldier. Priests are called 'goddes knyghtes' in Piers Plowman, B. xi. 304. In scanning this line, either lerninge is of three syllables (which I doubt) or else the first syllable in Parfit forms a foot by itself; see note to l. 341 above. [411]

361. In the South-E. Legendary, their crime is specified; they had buried two Christian martyrs.

362. Almache; Lat. 'Almachius praefectus.' The reigning emperor was Alexander Severus (A.D. 222-235).

363. apposed, questioned, examined; written opposed in most MSS., but corrected by Tyrwhitt. Ed. 1532 also has aposed. A similar confusion occurs in the Freres Tale, D. 1597, where only two MSS., viz. Pt. and Ln., have the spelling appose, as against five others which read opposen. In MSS. of Piers the Plowman, we find appose, to question, B. iii. 5; apposed, i. 47; apposeden, vii. 138. See Appose in the New E. Dict.; where it is shewn that appose was, at first, a mere variant of oppose, but came to be regarded as a correct form with a special sense; though, strictly speaking, it was a corruption.

365. sacrifyse, sacrifice to the idol. This was the usual test to which Christians were subjected; see note to l. 395. Compare Dan. iii. 14, 18. So in the Virgin Martyr, iv. 2:--

'Bow but thy knee to Jupiter, and offer Any slight sacrifice; or do but swear By Caesar's fortune, and--be free!'

367. thise martirs; note that this is an accusative case.

369. corniculere, a sort of officer. The note in Bell's edition, that the French version has prevost here, is wrong. The word prevost (Lat. praefectus) is applied to Almachius. Maximus was only a subordinate officer, and is called in the Early Eng. version (MS. Ashmole 43) the 'gailer.' The expression 'Maximo Corniculario' occurs only in the Lives of Valerian and Tiburtius, in the Acta Sanctorum (April 14); and we thus gather that Chaucer consulted this source also. This was noticed by Dr. Kölbing, in the Englische Studien, i. 215; and I subsequently noticed it myself, independently.

Riddle's Lat. Dict. gives--'Cornicularius, -i. m. a soldier who was presented with a corniculum, and by means of it promoted to a higher rank; hence, an assistant of an officer, Suetonius, Domit. 17; then also in the civil service, an assistant of a magistrate, a clerk, registrar, secretary; Cod. Just.'

'Corniculum, -i. n. (dimin. of cornu). 1. A little horn, Pliny; also, a small funnel of horn, Columella. An ornament in the shape of a horn worn on the helmet, with which officers presented meritorious soldiers; Livy, 10. 44.'

Ducange gives several examples, shewing that the word commonly meant a secretary, clerk, or registrar. Tyrwhitt refers us to Pitiscus, Lex. Ant. Rom. s. v. Cornicularius.

373. 'He got leave for himself from the executioners.' tormentoures, executioners; Lat. 'carnifices.' See l. 527. Cf. tormentor in Matt, xviii. 34; see Wright's Bible Word-book.

380. preestes, priests. The original says that pope Urban came himself. [412]

383. knightes, soldiers; as in l. 353. Lat. 'Eia milites Christi, abicite opera tenebrarum, et induimini arma lucis.' See Rom. xiii. 12.

386. Tyrwhitt notes a slight defect in the use of y-doon in l. 386, followed by doon in l. 387. The first six lines in this stanza are not in the original, but are imitated from 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8.

395. 'This was the criterion. The Christians were brought to the image of Jupiter or of the Emperor, and commanded to join in the sacrifice, by eating part of it, or to throw a few grains of incense into the censer, in token of worship; if they refused, they were put to death. See Pliny's celebrated letter to Trajan. Those who complied were termed sacrificati and thurificati by the canons, and were excluded from the communion for seven or ten years, or even till their death, according to the circumstances of their lapse.--See Bingham's Antiquities, b. xvi. 4. 5.'--Note in Bell's edition of Chaucer. Cf. note to l. 365.

This stanza is represented in the original (in spite of the hint in l. 394) by only a few words. 'Quarto igitur milliario ab urbe sancti ad statuam Iovis ducuntur, et dum sacrificare nollent, pariter decollantur.'

405. to-bete, beat severely; dide him so to-bete, caused (men) to beat him so severely, caused him to be so severely beaten. I have no hesitation in adopting the reading of ed. 1532 here. To-bete is just the right word, and occurs in MSS. Cp. Pt. Ln.; and, though these MSS. are not the best ones, it is clear that to-bete is the original reading, or it would not appear. To scan the line, slur over -ius in Almachius, and accent dide.

406. whippe of leed, i. e. a whip furnished with leaden plummets. Lat. 'eum plumbatis tamdiu caedi fecit,' &c.; French text--'il le fist tant batre de plombees,' &c.; Caxton--'he dyd do bete hym with plomettes of leed.'

413. encense, offer incense to; see note to l. 395.

414. they. Over this word is written in MS. E.--'scilicet Ministres.' The Latin original says that Cecilia converted as many as 400 persons upon this occasion. Hence the expression o voys (one voice) in l. 420.

417. withouten difference, i. e. without difference in might, majesty, or glory.

430. lewedly, ignorantly. The 'two answers' relate to her rank and her religion, subjects which had no real connexion.

434. Lat. 'de conscientia bona et fide non ficta'; cf. 1 Tim. i. 5.

437. to drede, to be feared; the gerund, and right according to the old idiom. We still say--'he is to blame,' 'this house to let.' March in his Anglo-Saxon Grammar, p. 198, says--'The gerund after the copula expresses what must, may, or should be done. Ex. Mannes sunu is t[=o] syllanne, the Son of Man must be delivered up, Matt. xvii. 22'; &c.

439.

'For it nis bote a bladre i-blowe ful of a wreche wynde; Be it with a litel prikke i-priked, a-wey it shrinketh al';-- South-E. Legendary, l. 194.

[413]

442. bigonne, didst begin; the right form, for which Tyrwhitt has begonnest. For the Mid. Eng. biginnen we commonly find onginnan in Anglo-Saxon, and the past tense runs thus--ongann, ongunne, ongann; pl. ongunnon. The form in Middle English is--bigan, bigunne (or bigonne), bigan; pl. bigunnen (or bigonne). The very form here used occurs in the Ayenbite of Inwyt, ed. Morris, p. 71. The suffix -st does not appear in strong verbs; cf. Thou sawe, B. 848; thou bar, G. 48.

The whole of ll. 443-467 varies considerably from the original, the corresponding passage of which is as follows: 'Cui Almachius: "ab iniuriis caepisti, et in iniuriis perseueras." Caecilia respondit: "iniuria non dicitur quod uerbis fallentibus irrogatur; unde aut iniuriam doce, si falsa locuta sum, aut te ipsum corripe calumniam inferentem, sed nos scientes sanctum Dei nomen omnino negare non possumus; melius est enim feliciter mori quam infeliciter uiuere." Cui Almachius: "ad quid cum tanta superbia loqueris?" Et illa: "non est superbia, sed constantia." Cui Almachius: "infelix, ignoras,"' &c. (l. 468). However, Chaucer has adopted an idea from this in ll. 473, 475.

463. To scan this, remember that Iuge has two syllables; and accent confus on the first syllable.

485. Lat. 'es igitur minister mortis, non uitae.'

487. Do wey, do away with; Lat. 'depone.' The phrase occurs again in the Milleres Tale, A. 3287.

489-497. These lines are wholly Chaucer's own.

490. To scan the line, elide e in suffre, and read phílosóphre.

492. spekest; to be read as spek'st.

498. utter yen, outer eyes, bodily eyes. In MS. E. it is glossed by 'exterioribus oculis.' The Latin has--'nescio ubi oculos amiseris; nam quos tu Deos dicis, omnes nos saxa esse uidemus; mitte igitur manum et tangendo disce, quod oculis non uales uidere.'

503. taste, test, try; Lat. 'tangendo disce.' The word is now restricted to one of the five senses; it could once have been used also of the sense of feeling, at the least. Bottom even ventures on the strange expression--'I trust to taste of truest Thisbe's sight'; Mid. Nt. Dream, v. 1. 280; such is the reading in the first folio.

505-511. This stanza is all Chaucer's own.

515. bath of flambes rede; Lat. 'in bulliente balneo.'

516-522. The Latin merely has--'Quae quasi in loco frigido permansit, nec modicum saltem sudoris persensit.'

533. Lat. 'eam semiuiuam cruentus carnifex dereliquit.'

534. is went, though only in the (excellent) Cambridge MS., is the right reading; the rest have he wente, sometimes misspelt he went. In the first place, is went is a common phrase in Chaucer; cf. German er ist gegangen, and Eng. he is gone. But secondly, the false rime detects the blunder at once; Chaucer does not rime the weak past tense wentë with a past participle like yhent. This was obvious to me at the first glance, but the matter was made sure by consulting Mr. Cromie's excellent 'Ryme-Index.' This at once gives the examples is went, [414] riming with pp. to-rent, E. 1012 (Clerkes Tale); is went, riming with instrument, F. 567 (Sq. Tale); is went, riming with innocent, B. 1730, and ben went, riming with pavement, B. 1869 (Prioresses Tale). Besides this, there are two more examples, viz. be they went, riming with sacrement, E. 1701; and that he be went, riming with sent, A. 3665. On the other hand, we find wente, sente, hente, and to-rente, all (weak) past tenses, and all riming together, in the Monkes Tale, B. 3446. The student should particularly observe an instance like this. The rules of rime in Chaucer are, on the whole, so carefully observed that, when once they are learnt, a false rime jars upon the ear with such discord as to be unpleasantly remarkable, and should be at once detected.

535-536. These two lines are not in the original.

539. 'She began to preach to them whom she had fostered,' i. e. converted. To foster is here to nurse, to bring up, to educate in the faith; see l. 122 above. The Latin text has--'omnes quos ad fidem conuerterat, Urbano episcopo commendauit.' Tyrwhitt makes nonsense of this line by placing the comma after hem instead of after fostred, and other editors have followed him. In MSS. E. and Hn. the metrical pause is rightly marked as occurring after fostred. The story here closely resembles the end of the Prioresses Tale, B. 1801-1855.

545. do werche, cause to be constructed.

549. Lat. 'inter episcopos sepeliuit.'

550. 'It is now a church in Rome, and gives a title to a cardinal'; note in Bell's edition. In a poem called the Stacyons of Rome, ed. Furnivall, l. 832, we are told that 100 years' pardon may be obtained by going to St. Cecilia's church. Mr. W. M. Rossetti, in a note on this line, says--'The Church of St. Cecilia, at the end of the Trastevere, near the Quay of Ripa Grande, was built on the site of the saint's own house in 230; rebuilt by pope Paschal I. in 821, and dedicated to God and Sts. Mary, Peter, Paul, and Cecilia; and altered to its present form in 1599 and 1725. In the former of these years, 1599, the body of the saint was found on the spot, with a contemporary inscription identifying her: the celebrated statue by Stefano Maderno, now in the church, represents her in the attitude she was discovered lying in.'

553. After this line the Latin adds--'Passa est autem circa annos domini CC et XXIII, tempore Alexandri imperatoris. Alibi autem legitur, quod passa sit tempore Marci Aurelii, qui imperauit circa annos domini XXCC.' The confusion of names here is easily explained. Marcus Aurelius died in 180; but Marcus Aurelius Alexander Severus (for such was his title in full) reigned from 222 to 235. The true date is generally considered to be 230, falling within his reign, as it should do.

THE CANON'S YEOMAN'S PROLOGUE.

554. the lyf of seint Cecyle, i. e. the Second Nun's Tale. This notice is important, because it inseparably links the Canon's Yeoman's Tale to the preceding one. [415]

555. fyve myle, five miles. Tyrwhitt says that it is five miles 'from some place, which we are now unable to determine with certainty.' He adds that he is in doubt whether the pilgrims are here supposed to be riding from or towards Canterbury; but afterwards thinks that 'the manner in which the Yeman expresses himself in ver. 16091, 2 [i. e. ll. 623, 624] seems to shew that he was riding to Canterbury.'

It is really very easy to explain the matter, and to tell all about it. It is perfectly clear that these two lines express the fact that they were riding to Canterbury. It is even probable that every one of the extant Tales refers to the outward journey: for Chaucer would naturally write his first set of Tales before beginning a second, and the extant Tales are insufficient to make even the first set complete. Consequently, we have only to reckon backwards from Boughton (see l. 556) for a five-mile distance along the old Canterbury road, and we shall find the name of the place intended.

The answer to this is--Ospringe. The matter is settled by the discovery that Ospringe was, as a matter of fact, one of the halting-places for the night of travellers from London to Canterbury. Dean Stanley, in his Historical Memorials of Canterbury, p. 237, quotes from a paper in the Archæologia, xxxv. 461, by Mr. E. A. Bond, to shew that queen Isabella, wife of Edw. II., rested in London on June 6, 1358; at Dartford on the 7th; at Rochester on the 8th; at Ospringe on the 9th; and at Canterbury on the 10th and 11th; and returned, on the 12th, to Ospringe again. See this, more at length, in Dr. Furnivall's Temporary Preface to the Canterbury Tales (Chaucer Soc.), pp. 13, 14.

Dr. Furnivall quotes again from M. Douet-d'Arcq, concerning a journey made by king John of France from London to Dover, by way of Canterbury, in 1360. On June 30, 1360, king John left London and came to Eltham. On July 1, he slept at Dartford; on July 2, at Rochester; on July 3, he dined at Sittingbourne (noted as being thirty-nine miles and three-quarters from London), and slept at Ospringe; and on July 4, came to Canterbury (noted as being fifty-four miles and a half from London).

These extracts clearly shew (1) that the whole journey was usually made to occupy three or four days; (2) that the usual resting-places were (at least) Dartford, Rochester, and Ospringe; and (3) that Sittingbourne was considered as being about fifteen miles from Canterbury.

Now, in passing from Sittingbourne to Canterbury, we find that the distance is divided into three very nearly equal parts by the situations of Ospringe and Boughton, giving five miles for each portion. The distance from Ospringe to Canterbury, only ten miles, left very little to be done on the last day; but pilgrims liked arriving at Canterbury in good time. Chaucer says, as plainly as possible, that the pilgrims really did rest all night on the road, at a place which can only be Ospringe; see ll. 588, 589.

Mr. Furnivall also notes (Temp. Pref. p. 29), that Lydgate, in his [416] Storie of Thebes (in Speght's Chaucer, 1602, fol. 353 back, col. 2) makes the pilgrims, on their homeward-journey, return from Canterbury to Ospringe to dinner.

556. Boghton-under-Blee. Here Blee is the same as the blee in Group H, l. 3, which see. It is now called Blean Forest, and the village is called Boughton-under-Blean, in order to distinguish it from other villages of the same name. I find, in a map, Boughton Aluph between Canterbury and Ashford, Boughton Malherb between Ashford and Maidstone, and Boughton Monchelsea between Maidstone and Staplehurst.

557. A man, i. e. the Canon. This is an additional pilgrim, not described in the Prologue, and therefore described here in ll. 566-581, 600-655, &c.

'The name of Canon, as applied to an officer in the Church, is derived from the Gk. [Greek: kanôn] (kanôn) signifying a rule or measure, and also the roll or catalogue of the Church, in which the names of the Ecclesiastics were registered; hence the clergy so registered were denominated Canonici or Canons. Before the Reformation, they were divided into two classes, Regular and Secular. The Secular were so called, because they canonized in saeculo, abroad in the world. Regular Canons were such as lived under a rule, that is, a code of laws published by the founder of that order. They were a less strict sort of religious than the monks, but lived together under one roof, had a common dormitory and refectory, and were obliged to observe the statutes of their order. The chief rule for these [regular] canons is that of St. Augustine, who was made bishop of Hippo in the year 395.... Their habit was a long black cassock with a white rochet over it, and over that a black coat and hood; from whence they were called Black Canons Regular of St. Augustine.'--Hook's Church Dictionary. And see Canon in the New E. Dictionary.

There were several other orders, such as the Gilbertine Canons of Sempringham in Lincolnshire, the Praemonstratenses or White Canons, &c. See also the description of them in Cutts's Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages, p. 19; and see Rock, Church of our Fathers, ii. 79, 84. At the latter reference, Dr. Rock says:--'Some families of canons regular still require their members, whenever they go out of the house, to wear over their cassock a linen surplice, and above that a large, full, black canon's cope.'

I should imagine, from the description of the Canon's house in l. 657, and from the general tenor of the Tale, that Chaucer's Canon was but a secular one. Still, their rule seems to have been less strict than that of the monks.

558. I have omitted to note that E. has wered a, where all the other MSS. read hadde a whyt.

561. priked myles three, ridden hard for three miles. The Canon and his yeoman may be supposed to have ridden rather fast for the first two miles; and then, finding they could not otherwise overtake [417] the pilgrims, they took to the best pace they could force out of their horses for three miles more.

562. yeman, yeoman, attendant, servant. His face was all discoloured with blowing his master's fire (ll. 664-667), and he seems to have been the more honest man of the two. He is the teller of the Tale, and begins by describing himself; l. 720.

565. 'He was all spotted with foam, so that he looked like a magpie.' The word He (like his in l. 566) refers to the Canon, whose clothing was black (l. 557); and the white spots of foam upon it gave him this appearance. The horse is denoted by it (l. 563), the word hors being neuter in the Oldest English. Most MSS. read he for it in l. 563, but there is nothing gained by it. Flecked, in the sense of 'spotted,' is still in use; see N. and Q. 7 S. i. 507, ii. 96.

566. male tweyfold, a double budget or leathern bag; see Prol. l. 694.

571. Chaucer tells us that the Pardoner's hood, on the contrary, was not fastened to his cloak; see Prol. 680. Dr. Rock, in The Church of our Fathers, ii. 44, says:--'Sometimes the hood of the cope was not only sewed to it, but stitched all round, and not allowed to hang with the lower part free; in such instances, the hood was necessarily left on the cope and folded with it.'

575. 'Rather faster than at a trot or a foot-pace.' Said ironically. Cf. Prol. 825.

577. clote-leef, the leaf of a burdock. Cotgrave has--'Lampourde, f. the Cloot or great Burre.' Also--'Glouteron, m. The Clote, Burre Docke, or great Burre.' And again--'Bardane, f. the Clote, burre-dock, or great Burre.'

In the Prompt. Parv. we find--'Clote, herbe; Lappa bardana, lappa rotunda.' In Wyclif's Version of the Bible, Hosea ix. 6, x. 8, we find clote or cloote where the Vulgate version has lappa. The Glossary to Cockayne's 'Leechdoms' explains A. S. cl[=a]te as Arctium lappa, with numerous references. The A. S. cl[=a]te is related to G. Klette, a bur, a burdock; O. H. G. chletta; Mid. Du. kladde.

It is clear that clote originally meant the bur itself, just as the name of bur-dock has reference to the same. The clote is, accordingly, the Arctium lappa, or Common Burdock, obtaining its name from the clotes (i. e. burs or knobs) upon it; and one of the large leaves of this plant would be very suitable for the purpose indicated.

We may safely dismiss the suggestion in Halliwell's Dictionary, founded on a passage in Gerarde's Herball, p. 674 D, that the Clote here means the yellow water-lily. We know from Cockayne's 'Leechdoms' that the name cl[=a]te s[=e]o þe swimman wille (i. e. swimming clote) was sometimes used for that flower (Nuphar lutea), either on account of its large round leaves or its globose flowers; but in the present passage we have only to remember the Canon's haste to feel assured, that he might much more easily have caught up a burdock-leaf from the road-side than have searched in a ditch for a water-lily. [418]

578. For swoot, to prevent sweat, to keep off the heat. See note to Sir Thopas, B. 2052.

580. It is probable that stillatorie (now shortened to still) is really a shortened form of distillatorie. Both forms occur in the Book of Quintessence, p. 10, l. 24, p. 13, l. 10.

581. Were ful, that might be full, that might chance to be full. Were is the subjunctive, and the relative is omitted.

588. now, &c.; lately, in the time of early morning.

589. This shews that the pilgrims had rested all night on the road; see note to l. 555 above.

597. oght, in any way, at all. Cf. Kn. Ta., A. 3045; and Prioresses Tale, B. 1792.

599. ye, yea. There is a difference between ye, yea, and yis, yes. The former merely assents, or answers a simple question in the affirmative. The latter is much more forcible, is used when the question involves a negative, and is often followed by an oath. See note to Specimens of Eng. 1394-1579, ed. Skeat, sect. xvii. (D), l. 22; and note to [gh]is in the Glossary to my edition of William of Palerne. See an example of [gh]us (yes) after a negative in Piers the Plowman, B. v. 125. Similarly, nay is the weaker, no the stronger form of negation.

602. A note in Bell's edition makes a difficulty of the scansion of this line. It is perfectly easy. The caesura (carefully marked in MS. E. as occurring after knewe) preserves the final e in knewe from elision.

And yé | him knéw | e, ás | wel ás | do I ||

Tyrwhitt reads also for the former as; which is legitimate, because as and also are merely different spellings of the same word.

It is true that the final e in wondre, and again that in werke, are both elided, under similar circumstances, in the two lines next following; but the cases are not quite identical. The e in knewe, representing not merely the plural, but also the subjunctive mood, is essential to the conditional form of the sentence, and is of much higher value than the others. If this argument be not allowed, Tyrwhitt's suggestion may be adopted. Or we may read knewen.

608. rit, contracted from rideth; see A. 974, 981. See also slit for slideth in l. 682 below.

611. leye in balaunce, place in the balance, weigh against it.

620. can, knows, knows how to exercise.

622. The Yeoman puts in a word for himself--'and moreover, I am of some assistance to him.'

625. up-so-doun, i. e. upside doun, according to our modern phrase. Chaucer's phrase is very common; see Pricke of Conscience, ed. Morris, l. 7230; P. Plowman, B. xx. 53; Gower, Conf. Amantis, i. 218, &c.

628. benedicite, pronounced ben'cite, in three syllables, as in B. 1170, 1974. See note to B. 1170.

632. worship, dignity, honour; here, respectable appearance.

633. oversloppe, upper garment. So in Icelandic, yfirsloppr means [419] an outer gown; as, 'prestar skrýddir yfirsloppum,' i. e. priests clad in over-slops, Historia Ecclesiastica, i. 473. The word slop is preserved in the somewhat vulgar 'slop-shop,' i. e. shop for second-hand clothes.

635. baudy, dirty. to-tore, torn in half. So in Piers Plowman, B. v. 197, Avarice is described as wearing a 'tabard' which is 'al to-torn and baudy.'

639. The second person sing. imperative seldom exhibits a final e; but it is sometimes found in weak verbs, tellen being one of them. The readings are--Telle, E. Cp. Pt. Hl.; Tel, Ln. Cm. Elsewhere, we find tel, as in D. 1298.

641. for, &c.; because he shall never thrive. The Yeoman blurts out the truth, and is then afraid he has said too much. In l. 644, he gives an evasive and politer reason, declaring that his lord is 'too wise'; see l. 648.

645. That that, that which. In the margin of MS. E. is written--'Omne quod est nimium, &c.'; which is probably short for--'Omne quod est nimium uertitur in uitium.' We also find--'Omne nimium nocet.' The corresponding English proverb is--'Too much of one thing is not good' (Heywood); on which Ray remarks--'Assez y a si trop n'y a; French. Ne quid nimis; Terentius. [Greek: Mêden agan.] This is an apothegm of one of the seven wise men; some attribute it to Thales, some to Solon. Est modus in rebus, sunt certi denique fines; Horat. Sat. i. 1. 106. L'abbondanza delle cose ingenera fastidio; Ital. Cada dia olla, amargo el caldo; Spanish.' We also find in Hazlitt's English Proverbs--'Too much cunning undoes.'--'Too much is stark nought.'--'Too much of a good thing.'--'Too much spoileth, too little is nothing.' See also the collection of similar proverbs in Ida v. Düringsfeld's Sprichwörter, i. 37, 38.

648. Cf. Butler's description of Hudibras:--

'We grant, although he had much wit, He was very shy of using it.'

652. Ther-of no fors, never mind about that.

655. The adj. sly here appears in the indefinite form, and rimes with hertely; correctly. Lounsbury (Studies, i. 388) admits the fact, but immediately proceeds to rate Chaucer for using the form dry-e (dissyllabic) as an indefinite form! The attack, being founded on an error, ignominiously fails. It so happens that sly is, etymologically, a monosyllable, whilst drye is etymologically dissyllabic; see sleh and druye in Stratmann.

658. A blind lane is one that has no opening at the farther end; a cul de sac.

659. theves by kinde, thieves by natural disposition.

662. the sothe, the truth. The reader should carefully note the full pronunciation of the final e in sothe. If he should omit to sound it, he will be put to shame when he comes to the end of the next line, ending with tó thee. A very similar instance is that of tyme, riming with bý me, G. 1204 below. The case is the more remarkable because [420] the A. S. s[=o]ð, truth, is a monosyllable; but the truth is that the definite adjective the sothe (A. S. þæt s[=o]ðe) may very well have supplied its place, the adjective being more freely used than the substantive in this instance. Chaucer has sothe at the end of a line in other places, where it rimes with the dissyllabic bothe; G. 168; Troil. iv. 1035.

We may remark that the sothe is written and pronounced instead of the sooth (as shewn by the metre) in the Story of Genesis and Exodus, ed. Morris, l. 74:--

'He [they] witen the sothe, that is sen.'

665. Peter! by St. Peter; as in B. 1404, D. 446. The full form of the phrase--'bi seynt Peter of Rome'--occurs in Piers the Plowman, B. vi. 3. The shorter exclamation--'Peter!' also occurs in the same, B. v. 544; see my note on that line. harde grace, disfavour, ill-favour; a mild imprecation. In l. 1189, it expresses a mild malediction.

669. multiplye. This was the technical term employed by alchemists to denote their supposed power of transmuting the baser metals into gold; they thought to multiply gold by turning as much base metal as a piece of it would buy into gold itself; see l. 677. Some such pun seems here intended; yet it is proper to remember that the term originally referred solely to the supposed fact, that the strength of an elixir could be multiplied by repeated operations. See the article 'De Multiplicatione,' in Theatrum Chemicum, iii. 301, 818; cf. 131. Cf. Ben Jonson's Alchemist, ii. 1:--

'For look, how oft I iterate the work, So many times I add unto his virtue'; &c.

686. To scan the line, accent yeman on the latter syllable, as in ll. 684, 701.

687. To scan the line, pronounce ever nearly as e'er, and remember that hadde is of two syllables. The MSS. agree here.

688. Catoun, Cato. Dionysius Cato is the name commonly assigned to the author of a Latin work in four books, entitled Dionysii Catonis Disticha de Moribus ad Filium. The work may be referred to the fourth century. It was extremely popular, not only in Latin, but in French and English versions. Chaucer here quotes from Lib. i. Distich. 17:--

'Ne cures si quis tacito sermone loquatur; Conscius ipse sibi de se putat omnia dici.'

See other quotations from Cato in the Nonne Preestes Tale, B. 4130; Merch. Ta., E. 1377; and see my note to Piers Plowman, B. vi. 316.

It is worth noticing that Catoun follows the form of the Lat. Catonem, the accusative case. Such is the usual rule.

694. dere abye, pay dearly for it. abye (lit. to buy off) was corrupted at a later date to abide, as in Shak. Jul. Caesar, iii. 1. 94.

703. game, amusement. In l. 708, it is used ironically. Cf. ernest, i. e. a serious matter, in l. 710. Cf. The Alchemist, ii. 1:--

'Alchemy is a pretty kind of game,' &c.

[421]

THE CHANOUNS YEMANNES TALE.

720. This Tale is divided, in MS. E., into two parts. Pars prima is not really a tale at all, but a description of alchemy and its professors. The real tale, founded on the same subject, is contained in Pars Secunda, beginning at l. 972. The rubric means--'Here the Canon's Yeoman begins his tale.' The word tale is not to be taken as a nominative case.

I may observe that I frequently refer below to the Theatrum Chemicum, printed in 1659, in five volumes. Also to Ashmole's Theatrum Chemicum (quite a different work).

721. neer, nearer; this explains near in Macbeth, ii. 3. 146.

724. Ther, where; observe the use. In l. 727, we have wher.

726. hose, an old hose, instead of a hood. A pair of hose meant what we should now call a pair of tight-fitting drawers, which also covered the feet.

730. 'And, in return for all my labour, I am cajoled.' To 'blere one's eye' is to cajole, to deceive, to hoodwink. See Piers the Plowman, B. prol. 74, and the note.

731. which, what sort of a; Lat. qualis. On multiplye, see note to l. 669.

739. 'I consider his prosperity as done with.'

743. Iupartye, jeopardy, hazard. Tyrwhitt remarks that the derivation is not from jeu perdu, as some have guessed, but from jeu parti. He adds--'A jeu parti is properly a game, in which the chances are exactly even; see Froissart, v. i. c. 234--"Ils n'estoient pas à jeu parti contre les François"; and v. ii. c. 9--"si nous les voyons à jeu parti." From hence it signifies anything uncertain or hazardous. In the old French poetry, the discussion of a problem, where much might be said on both sides, was called a Jeu parti. See Poésies du Roy de Navarre, Chanson xlviii., and Gloss. in v. See also Ducange, in v. Jocus Partitus.' Ducange has--'Jocus partitus dicebatur, cum alicui facultas concedebatur, alterum e duobus propositis eligendi.' Hence was formed not only jeopardy, but even the verb to jeopard, used in the A. V., Judges v. 18; 2 Macc. xi. 7.

746. In the margin of MS. E. is written--'Solacium miseriorum (sic), &c.' In Marlowe's Faustus, ii. 1. 42, the proverb is quoted in the form 'Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris.' Dr. Wagner says: 'The purport of this line may have been originally derived from Seneca, De Consol. ad Polybium, xii. 2: est autem hoc ipsum solatii loco, inter multos dolorem suum diuidere; qui quia dispensatur inter plures, exigua debet apud te parte subsidere.' Cf. Milton, P. R. i. 398. The idea is that conveyed in the fable of the Fox who had lost his tail, and wished to persuade the other foxes to cut theirs off likewise. See Troil. i. 708.

752. 'The technical terms which we use are so learned and fine.' See this well illustrated in Jonson's Alchemist, ii. 1:--'What else are all your terms,' &c. [422]

764. lampe; so in the MSS. It is clearly put for lambe, a corruption of O. Fr. lame, Lat. lamina. Were there any MS. authority, it would be better to read lame at once. Cotgrave has--'Lame; f. a thin plate of any metall; also, a blade.' &c. Nares has--'Lamm, s. a plate, from Lat. lamina. "But he strake Phalantus just upon the gorget, so as he batred the lamms thereof, and make his head almost touch the back of his horse"; Pembr. Arcadia, lib. iii. p. 269.' Lame in old French also means, the flat slab covering a tomb; see Godefroy. So here, after the ingredients have all been placed in a pot, they are covered over with a plate of glass laid flat upon the top.

It is strange that no editor has made any attempt to explain this word. It obviously does not mean lamp! For the insertion of the p, cf. solempne for solemne, and nempne for nemne; also flambe for flame; see the Glossary.

766. enluting. To enlute is to close with lute. Webster has--'Lute, n. (Lat. lutum, mud, clay). A composition of clay or other tenacious substance, used for stopping the juncture of vessels so closely as to prevent the escape or entrance of air, or to protect them when exposed to heat.'

The process is minutely described in a MS. by Sir George Erskine, of Innertiel (temp. James I.), printed by Mr. J. Small in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. xi. 1874-75, p. 193, as follows:--'Thairfoir when all the matter which must be in, is gathered together into the pot, tak a good lute maid of potters clay, and mix it with bolus and rust of iron tempered with whitts of eggs and chopt hair, and mingle and worke thame weill togither, and lute [gh]oure pott ane inch thick thairwith, and mak a stopple of potters earth weill brunt, to shut close in the hole that is in the top of the cover of the pott, and lute the pott and the cover very close togither, so as no ayre may brek furth, and when any craks cum into it, in the drying of the lute, dawbe them up againe; and when the lute is perfectly drie in the sunne, then take a course linen or canvas, and soke it weill in the whitts of eggs mixt with iron rust, and spred this cloth round about the luting, and then wet it weill again with whitts of eggs and upon the luting'; &c.

768. The alchemists were naturally very careful about the heat of the fire. So in The Alchemist, ii. 1:--

'Look well to the register, And let your heat still lessen by degrees.'

And again, in iii. 2:--

'We must now increase Our fire to ignis ardens,' &c.

770. matires sublyming, sublimation of materials. To 'sublimate' is to render vaporous, to cause matter to pass into a state of vapour by the application of heat. 'Philosophi considerantes eorum materiam, quae est in vase suo, et calorem sentit, evaporatur in speciem fumi, et [423] ascendit in capite vasis: et vocant sublimationem'; Theatrum Chemicum, 1659, vol. ii. p. 125.

'Subtle. How do you sublime him [mercury]?

Face. With the calce of egg-shells, White marble, talc.' The Alchemist, ii. 1.

771. amalgaming. To 'amalgamate' is to compound or mix intimately, especially used of mixing quicksilver with other metals. The term is still in use; thus 'an amalgam of tin' means a mixture of tin and quicksilver.

calcening. To 'calcine' is to reduce a metal to an oxide, by the action of heat. What is now called an oxide was formerly called 'a metallic calx'; hence the name. The term is here applied to quicksilver or mercury. For example--'When mercury is heated, and at the same time exposed to atmospheric air, it is found that the volume of the air is diminished, and the weight of the mercury increased, and that it becomes, during the operation, a red crystalline body, which is the binoxide of mercury, formed by the metal combining with the oxygen of the air'; English Cyclopaedia, Div. Arts and Sciences, s. v. Oxygen. 'The alchemists used to keep mercury at a boiling heat for a month or longer in a matrass, or a flask with a tolerably long neck, having free communication with the air. It thus slowly absorbed oxygen, becoming converted into binoxide, and was called by them mercurius precipitatus per se. It is now however generally prepared by calcination from mercuric nitrate'; id., s. v. Mercury.

772. Mercurie crude, crude Mercury. See note to l. 820. See the description of Mercury in Ashmole's Theat. Chem. p. 272. The alchemists pretended that their quicksilver, which they called the Green Lion, was something different from quicksilver as ordinarily found. See treatise on 'The Greene Lyon,' in Ashmole's Theat. Chem. p. 280.

774. Note the accents--'súblyméd Mercúrie.'

778. Here the 'ascension of spirits' refers to the rising of gases or vapours from certain substances; and the 'matters that lie all fix adown' are the materials that lie at the bottom in a fixed (i. e. in a solid) state. There were four substances in particular which were technically termed 'spirits'; viz. sulphur, sal ammoniac, quicksilver, and arsenic, or (as some said) orpiment. See Theatrum Chemicum, iii. 81, 129; ii. 430; iii. 276.

782. Here a = in; being short for an, a variant of on, used in the old sense of 'in.' The expression signifies, literally, in the way to (or of) twenty devils; see note to A. 3713.

790. bole armoniak. The latter word should rather be Armeniak, i. e. Armenian, but we have armoniak again below, in l. 798; see note to that line.

'Bole, a kind of fine, compact, or earthy clay, often highly coloured with iron, and varying in shades of colour from white to yellowish, [424] reddish, blueish, and brownish. Fr. bol, Lat. bolus, Gk. [Greek: bôlos], a clod or lump of earth'; Webster's Dict., ed. Goodrich and Porter. Cotgrave has--'Bol, m. the astringent and medicinable red earth or minerall called Bolearmenie ... Bol Oriental, et Bol Armenien Oriental, Oriental Bolearmenie; the best and truest kind of Bolearmenie, ministred with good effect against all poisons, and in pestilent diseases; and more red than the ordinary one, which should rather be tearmed Sinopian red earth than Bolearmeny.' And see Bole in the New E. Dict.

Mr. Paget Toynbee has lately shewn (in The Academy, Sept. 16, 1893) that verdegrees is from the O. Fr. verd de Grece, lit. 'green of Greece.' Cotgrave has the curious form verderis, which probably represents the Latin viride aeris, the green of brass. This term (viride aeris) is the common one in the old Latin treatises on alchemy. See the chapter in Albertus Magnus--'Quomodo viride aeris fit, et quomodo rubificatur, et super omnia valet ad artem istam'; Theatrum Chemicum, ii. 436. It is the bibasic acetate of copper.

792, 794. Perhaps Chaucer had read the following lines:

'Par alambics et descensoires, Cucurbites, distillatoires.' Les Remonstrances de Nature, par J. de Meung, ll. 39,40.

794. Cucurbites, vessels supposed to bear some resemblance to a gourd, whence the name (Lat. cucurbita, a gourd). 'Cucurbita est uas quod debet stare in aqua, usque ad juncturam firmatum in caldario, ut non moueatur'; Theatrum Chemicum, ii. 452.

795. dere y-nough a leek, dear enough at the price of a leek. Cf. Clerkes Tale, E. 999.

797. Watres rubifying, reddening waters. This is well illustrated by a long passage in The Boke of Quinte Essence, ed. Furnivall, p. 13, where instructions are given for extracting the quintessence out of the four elements. After various processes, we are directed to put the vessel into 'the fier of flawme right strong, and the reed water schal ascende'; and again--'thanne yn the stillatorie, to the fier of bath, cleer water schall asende; and in the botum shall remayne the reed water, that is, the element of fier.' A long and unintelligible passage about 'rubrificatio' and 'aqua spiritualis rubea' occurs in the Theatrum Chemicum, iii. 41. See also 'modus rubrificandi' and the recipe for 'aqua rubea'; id. iii. 110.

798. Arsenic was by some considered as one of the 'four spirits'; see note to l. 778. For a long passage 'de arsenico,' see Theatrum Chemicum, iii. 177; also p. 110, and ii. 238. Sal armoniacum was another of them (see l. 824) and is constantly mentioned in the old treatises; see 'praeparatio salis Armoniaci secundum Rasim'; Theat. Chem. iii. 179; also pp. 89, 94, 102; ii. 445. In vol. ii. p. 138 of the same work, it is twice called 'sal armeniacum.' See the account of sal ammoniac in Thomson, Hist. of Chemistry, i. 124. Brimstoon was also a 'spirit' (see l. 824); it is only another name for sulphur. [425]

800. egrimoine, common agrimony, Ægrimonia officinalis; valerian, Valeriana officinalis; lunarie, a kind of fern called in English moonwort, Botrychium lunaria. The belief in the virtue of herbs was very strong; cf. Spenser, (F. Q. i. 2. 10). The root of valerian yields valerianic acid. The following quotation is from the English Encyclopaedia, s. v. Botrychium:--

'In former times the ferns had a great reputation in medicine, not so much on account of their obvious as their supposed virtues. The lunate shape of the pinnæ of this fern (B. lunaria) gave it its common name, and was the origin of much of the superstitious veneration with which it was regarded. When used it was gathered by the light of the moon. Gerarde says--"it is singular [i. e. sovereign] to heal green and fresh wounds. It hath been used among the alchymists and witches to do wonders withall."'

In Ashmole's Theatrum Chemicum, p. 348, is a full description of 'lunayrie,' with an engraving of it. It is there also called asterion, and we are told that its root is black, its stalk red, and its leaves round; and moreover, that the leaves wax and wane with the moon, and on each of them is a mark of the breadth of a penny. See also pp. 315, 318 of the same work.

805. albificacioun, i. e. the rendering the water of a white colour, as distinguishing from the reddening of it, mentioned in l. 797. In a long chapter printed in the Theatrum Chemicum (iii. 634-648) much is said about red and white colours. Compare the Alchemist, ii. 1:--

'Mammon. Of white oil?

Subtle. No, sir, of red.'

No doubt, too, water is here used in the sense of the Lat. aqua, to denote any substance that is in a liquid state.

808. Cered pokets. Tyrwhitt reads Sered pokettes, and includes this phrase in his short 'List of Phrases not understood'; and indeed, it has never been explained. But there is little difficulty about it. Poket is the diminutive of poke, a bag, and means a little bag. Cered (Lat. ceratus) means waxed. Thus Cotgrave has--'Ciré, m. -ée, f. waxed, seared; dressed, covered, closed, or mingled, with wax.' In many MSS. the word is spelt sered, but this makes no difference, since Cotgrave has 'seared' in this very place. So we find both 'cere-cloth' and 'sear-cloth.' It is obvious that bags or cases prepared or closed with wax would be useful for many of the alchemist's purposes; see Theat. Chem. iii. 13.

sal peter, Lat. sal petrae, or rock-salt, also called nitre, is nitrate of potassa. A recipe for preparing it is given in Theat. Chem. iii. 195.

vitriole, i. e. sulphuric acid. See 'vitrioli praeparatio'; Theat. Chem. iii. 95.

810. Sal tartre, salt of tartar, i. e. carbonate of potash; so called from its having been formerly prepared from cream of tartar.

sal preparat, common salt prepared in a certain manner. See the [426] section--'quod ualeat sal commune, et quomodo praeparetur'; Theat. Chem. ii. 433, 435.

812. maad, i. e. prepared, mixed. oile of tartre, oil of tartar, cream of tartar; see Prol. 630. See the section--'quomodo praeparatur tartarum, ut oleum fiat ex illo, quo calces soluuntur'; Theat. Chem. ii. 436; and again--'ad faciendum oleum de Tartaro'; id. iii. 303. To scan l. 813, remember to pronounce tartre as in French, and to accent alum on the latter syllable.

Of tártr' | alúm | glas bérm | wort ánd | argoíle ||

813. argoile, crude cream of tartar deposited as a hard crust on wine-casks. Called argoil in Anglo-French; Liber Albus, i. 225, 231.

814. resalgar, realgar, red orpiment, or the red sulphuret of arsenic; symbol (As S_2); found native in some parts of Europe, and of a brilliant red colour. Resalgar is adapted from the old Latin name, risigallum. The word is explained by Thynne in his Animadversions, ed. Furnivall, p. 36--'This resalgar is that whiche by some is called Ratesbane, a kynde of poysone named Arsenicke.'

enbibing, imbibition; see this term used in The Alchemist, ii. 1. It means absorption; cf. Theat. Chem. iii. 132, l. 27.

816. citrinacioun. This also is explained by Thynne, who says (p. 38)--'Citrinatione is bothe a coolor [colour] and parte of the philophers stoone.' He then proceeds to quote from a Tractatus Avicennae, cap. 7, and from Arnoldus de Nova Villa, lib. i. cap. 5. It was supposed that when the materials for making the philosopher's stone had been brought into a state very favourable to the ultimate success of the experiment, they would assume the colour of a citron; or, as Thynne says, Arnold speaks of 'this citrinatione, perfecte digestione, or the coolor provinge the philosophers stoone broughte almoste to the heighte of his perfectione'; see Citrinacio in Ducange. So in the Alchemist, iii. 2:--

'How's the moon now? eight, nine, ten days hence He will be silver potate; then three days Before he citronise. Some fifteen days, The magisterium will be perfected.'

817. fermentacioun, fermentation. This term is also noticed by Thynne (p. 33), who says--'fermentacione ys a peculier terme of Alchymye, deduced from the bakers fermente or levyne'; &c. See Theat. Chem. ii. 115, 175.

820. foure spirites. Chaucer enumerates these below. I have already mentioned them in the note to l. 778; see also note to l. 798. Tyrwhitt refers us to Gower's Confessio Amantis, bk. iv., where we find a passage very much to the point. See Pauli's edition, ii. 84.

Gower enumerates the seven bodies and the four spirits; and further explains that gold and silver are the two 'extremities,' and the other metals agree with one or other of them more or less, so as to be capable of transmutation into one of them. For this purpose, the [427] alchemist must go through the processes of distillation, congelation, solution, descension, sublimation, calcination, and fixation, after which he will obtain the perfect elixir of the philosopher's stone. He adds that there are really three philosopher's stones, one vegetable, capable of healing diseases; another animal, capable of assisting each of the five senses of man; and the third mineral, capable of transforming the baser metals into silver and gold.

It is easy to see how the various metals were made to answer to the seven planets. Gold, the chief of metals and yellow, of course answered to the sun; and similarly silver, to the paler moon. Mercury, the swiftest planet, must be the shifty quicksilver; Saturn, the slowest, of cold and dull influence, must be lead. The etymology of copper suggested the connexion with the Cyprian Venus. This left but two metals, iron and tin, to be adjusted; iron was suggestive of Mars, the god of war, leaving tin to Jupiter. The notion of thus naming the metals is attributed to Geber; see Thomson, Hist. of Chemistry, i. 117. In the Book of Quinte Essence, ed. Furnivall, p. 8, we find: 'a plate of venus or Iubiter,' i. e. of copper or tin.

Quicksilver, be it observed, is still called mercury; and nitrate of silver is still lunar caustic. Gold and silver are constantly termed sol and luna in the old treatises on alchemy. See further allusions in Chaucer's House of Fame, 1431-1487, as pointed out in the notes to ll. 1431, 1450, 1457, 1487 of that poem.

834. 'Whosoever pleases to utter (i. e. display) his folly.'

838. Ascaunce, possibly, perhaps; lit. 'just as if.' See note to D. 1745.

846. Al conne he, whether he know. The use of al at the beginning of a sentence containing a supposition is common in Chaucer; see Prol. 734. Cf. al be, Prol. 297; Kn. Tale, 313 (A. 1171). And see l. 861 below.

848. bothe two, both learned and unlearned alike.

853. limaille, filings, fine scrapings. 'Take fyn gold and make it into smal lymail'; Book of Quinte Essence, p. 8.

861. 'To raise a fiend, though he look never so rough,' i. e. forbidding, cross.

874. it is to seken euer, it is always to seek, i. e. never found. In Skelton's Why Come Ye Nat to Court, l. 314, the phrase 'they are to seke' means 'they are at a loss'; this latter is the commoner use.

875. temps, tense. The editors explain it by 'time.' If Chaucer had meant time, it is reasonable to suppose that he would have said so. Surely it is better to take 'that futur temps' in the special sense of 'that future tense.' The allusion is to the phrase 'to seken' in the last line, which is not an infinitive mood but a gerund, and often used as a future tense, as Chaucer very well knew. Compare the A. S. version of Matt. xi. 3--'eart þ[=u] þe to cumenne eart'--with the Lat. 'Tu es qui uenturus es.'

878. bitter swete, i. e. a fatal, though alluring, pursuit. An example [428] of oxymoron; cf. 'insaniens sapientia,' Horat. Carm. i. 34; 'strenua inertia,' Epist. i. xi. 28. Cf. the plant-name bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara).

879. nadde they but, if they only should have (or, were to have). Nadde is for ne hadde, past tense subjunctive.

880. inne, within; A. S. innan; see l. 881. a-night, for on night, in the night. Perhaps it should be nighte (with final e), and lighte in l. 881.

881. bak, cloth; any rough sort of covering for the back. So in most MSS.; altered in E. to brat, but unnecessarily. That the word bak was used in the sense of garment is quite certain; see William of Palerne, ed. Skeat, l. 2096; Piers the Plowman, B. x. 362; and the same, A. xi. 184.

Pronounce the words And a rapidly, in the time of one syllable.

907. to-brek'th, bursts in pieces. go, gone. This must have been a very common result; the old directions about 'luting' and hermetically sealing the vessels employed are so strict, that every care seems to have been (unwittingly) taken to secure an explosion; see note to l. 766 above. So in the Alchemist, iv. 3:--

Face. O, sir, we are defeated! all the works Are flown in fumo, every glass is burst': &c.

921. chit, short for chideth; so also halt for holdeth.

922. Som seyde, i. e. one said; note that som is here singular, as in Kn. Tale, 2173 (A. 3031). Hence the use of the thridde, i. e. the third, in l. 925.

923. Lungs was a nickname for a fire-blower to an alchemist. See Lungs in Nares' Glossary.

929. so theech, for so thee ich, so may I thrive. See Pard. Tale, C. 947.

933. eft-sone, for the future; lit. soon afterwards.

934. 'I am quite sure that the pot was cracked.'

938. mullok, rubbish. This is a common provincial E. word; see (in the E. Dial. Society's Publications) Ray's Glossary, p. 57; and the Glossaries for Wilts., Hants., Lancashire, &c.

962. The reading shyneth is of course the right one. In the margin of MS. E. is written 'Non teneas aurum,' &c. This proves that Tyrwhitt's note is quite correct. He says--'This is taken from the Parabolae of Alanus de Insulis, who died in 1294; see Leyser, Hist. Poetarum Medii Ævi, p. 1074.

"Non teneas aurum totum quod splendet ut aurum, Nec pulchrum pomum quodlibet esse bonum."'

Shakespeare has--'All that glisters is not gold'; Merch. of Venice, ii. 7. 65. Hazlitt's English Proverbs has--'All is not gold that glisters (Heywood). See Chaucer, Chan. Yeom. Prol.; Roxburghe Ballads, ed. Collier, p. 102; Udall's Royster Doyster, 1566, where we read: All things that shineth is not by and by pure golde (Act v. sc. 1). Fronti [429] nulla fides, Juvenal, Sat. ii. 8. The French say, Tout ce qui luict n'est pas or. Non é oro tutto quel che luce; Ital. No es todo or lo que reluce; Span.' So in German--'Est ist nicht Alles Gold was glänzt'; and again--'Rothe Aepfel sind auch faul.' See Ida v. Düringsfeld's Sprichwörter, i. 53, 107. Cf. Chaucer's House of Fame, i. 272.

972. Pars secunda. This is where the Tale begins. Even now, the Yeoman has some more to say by way of preface, and only makes a real start at l. 1012.

975. Alisaundre, Alexandria, and othere three, and three more as well.

999. I mente, I intended; as in l. 1051 below. 'But my intention was to correct that which is amiss.'

The reading I-ment, as a past participle, adopted by Mr. Wright, is incorrect, as shewn by Mr. Cromie's Ryme-Index. Cf. Nonne Pr. Tale, 604 (B. 4614); Sq. Tale, F. 108. See note to G. 534 above.

1005. by yow, with reference to you canons. See By in Wright's Bible Word-book.

1012. annueleer. So called, as Tyrwhitt explains, 'from their being employed solely in singing annuals or anniversary masses for the dead, without any cure of souls. See the Stat. 36 Edw. III. c. viii, where the Chappelleins Parochiels are distinguished from others chantanz annuales, et a cure des almes nient entendantz. They were both to receive yearly stipends, but the former was allowed to take six marks, the latter only five. Compare Stat. 2 Hen. V. St. 2. c. 2, where the stipend of the Chapellein Parochiel is raised to eight marks, and that of the Chapellein annueler (he is so named in the statute) to seven.' See also the note at p. 505 of Wyclif's Works, ed. Matthew (E. E. T. S.); and Monumenta Franciscana, p. 605.

1015. That is, to the lady of the house where he lodged.

1018. spending-silver, money to spend, ready money. The phrase occurs in Piers the Plowman, B. xi. 278.

1024. a certeyn, a certain sum, a stated sum. Cf. l. 776.

1027. at my day, on the day agreed upon, on the third day.

1029. Another day, another time, on the next occasion.

1030. him took, handed over to him; so in ll. 1034, 1112.

1055. 'In some measure to requite your kindness.' See note to Sq. Tale, F. 471, and cf. l. 1151.

1059. seen at yë, see evidently; lit. see at eye.

1066. 'Proffered service stinketh' is among Heywood's Proverbs. Ray remarks on it--'Merx ultronea putet, apud Hieronymum. Erasmus saith, Quin uulgo etiam in ore est, ultro delatum obsequium plerumque ingratum esse. So that it seems this proverb is in use among the Dutch too. In French, Merchandise offerte est à demi vendue. Ware that is proffered is sold for half the worth, or at half the price.' The German is--'Angebotene Hülfe hat keinen Lohn'; see Ida v. Düringsfeld's Sprichwörter, i. 86.

1096. Algates, at any rate. Observe the context. [430]

1103. that we it hadde, that we might have it. Hadde is here the subjunctive. Perhaps have would be better, but it lacks authority.

1126. mortifye, mortify; a technical term. See note to l. 1431.

1151. 'To blind the priest with.' See note to l. 1055.

1171. For torned, read terved, i. e. flayed, skinned; MS. E. has terued (so it may be read). See l. 1274.

1185. Seint Gyles, saint Giles; a corrupted form of Ægidius. His day is Sept. 1; see Chambers' Book of Days, ii. 296; Legenda Aurea, cap. cxxx.; or Caxton's Golden Legende.

1204-1205. The rime is given by týmë (two syllables, from A. S. t[=i]ma) riming with by me.

On referring to Prof. Child's Observations on the Language of Gower, I find seven references given for this rime, as occurring in the edition by Dr. Pauli. The references are--i. 227, 309, 370; ii. 41, 114, 277; iii. 369. Dr. Pauli prints byme as one word!

1210. The last foot contains the words--or a pannë.

1238-1239. MS. E. omits these two lines: the other MSS. retain them.

1244. halwes is in the genitive plural. 'And the blessing of all the saints may ye have, Sir Canon!'

1245. 'And may I have their malison,' i. e. their curse.

1274. For torne, read terve, i. e. flay; as in MS. E. Cf. l. 1171.

1283. 'Why do you wish it to be better than well?' Answering nearly to--'what would you have better?'

1292. A rather lax line. Is ther is to be pronounced rapidly, in the time of one syllable, and her-inne is of three syllables.

1299. Pronounce simple as simpl'; tong-e is dissyllabic.

1313. his ape, his dupe. See Prol. 706, B. 1630. The simile is evidently taken from the fact that showmen used to carry apes about with them much as organ-boys do at the present day, the apes being secured by a string. Thus, 'to make a man one's ape' is to lead him about at will. The word apewarde occurs in Piers the Plowman, B. v. 540. To lead apes means to lead about a train of dupes.

1319. heyne, wretch. This word has never before been properly explained. It is not in Tyrwhitt's Glossary. Dr. Morris considers it as another form of hyne, a peasant, or hind, but leaves the phonetic difference of vowel unaccounted for; the words are clearly distinct. It occurs in Skelton's Bowge of Courte, l. 327:--

'It is great scorne to see suche an hayne As thou arte, one that cam but yesterdaye, With vs olde seruauntes suche maysters to playe.'

Here Mr. Dyce also explains it by hind, or servant, whereas the context requires the opposite meaning of a despised master. Halliwell gives--'Heyne, a miser, a worthless person'; but without a reference. It means 'miser' in Udall's translation of Erasmus' Apophthegmes (1564), where it occurs thrice. Thus, in bk. i. § 106, we find: 'Soch [431] a niggard or hayn, that he coulde not finde in his harte ... to departe with an halfpeny.' In the same, § 22, we find: 'haines and niggardes of their purse'; and, for a third example, see note to Parl. Foules, 610 (vol. i. p. 523). The word seems to be Scandinavian; cf. Icel. hegna, Dan. hegne, to hedge in, Swed. hägna, to fence, guard, protect; whence Lowl. Sc. hain, to hedge in, to preserve, to spare, to save money, to be penurious (Jamieson).

1320. 'This priest being meanwhile unaware of his false practice.' See l. 1324.

1342. Alluding to the proverb--'As fain as a fowl [i. e. bird] of a fair morrow'; given by Hazlitt in the form--'As glad as fowl of a fair day.' See Piers the Plowman, B. x. 153; Kn. Tale, 1579 (A. 2437).

1348. To stonde in grace; cf. Prol. 88; also A. 1173.

1354. By our; pronounced By'r, as spelt in Shakespeare, Mid. Nt. Dr. iii. 1. 14.

1362. nere, for ne were; meaning 'were it not for.'

1381. sy, saw. The scribes also use the form sey or seigh, as in Kn. Tale, 208 (A. 1066); Franklin's Tale, F. 850, in both of which places it rimes with heigh (high). Of these spellings sey (riming with hey) is to be preferred in most cases. See note to Group B, l. 1.

1388. This line begins with a large capital C in the Ellesmere MS., shewing that the Tale itself is at an end, and the rest is the Yeoman's application of it.

1389. 'There is strife between men and gold to that degree, that there is scarcely any (gold) left.'

1408. Alluding to the proverb--'Burnt bairns fear fire.' This occurs among the Proverbs of Hendyng, in the form--'Brend child fur dredeth.' So in the Romaunt of the Rose, l. 1820--'Brent child of fyr hath muche drede.' The German is--'Ein gebranntes Kind fürchtet das Feuer'; see Ida v. Düringsfeld's Sprichwörter, i. 531.

1410. Alluding to the proverb--'Better late than never'; in French 'Il vaut mieux tard que jamais.' The German is--'Besser spät als nie'; see Ida v. Düringsfeld's Sprichwörter, i. 204.

1411. In Hazlitt's Proverbs--'Never is a long term.'

1413. Bayard was a colloquial name for a horse; see Piers Plowman, B. iv. 53, 124; vi. 196; and 'As bold as blind Bayard' was a common proverb. See also Troil. i. 218; Gower, Conf. Amant. iii. 44; Skelton, ed. Dyce, ii. 139, 186. 'Bot al blustyrne forth unblest as Bayard the blynd'; Awdelay's Poems, p. 48.

1416. 'As to turn aside from an obstacle in the road.'

1419. Compare this with the Man of Lawes Tale, B. 552.

1422. rape and renne, seize and clutch. The phrase, as it stands, is meaningless; rapen is to hurry, and rennen is to run, both verbs being intransitive. But it took the place of the older phrase repen and rinen (Ancren Riwle, p. 128), from A. S. hrepian and hr[=i]nan, to handle and touch. The Ancren Riwle gives the form arepen and arechen, with the various readings repen and rinen, ropen and rimen. Ihre quotes the [432] English 'rap and ran, per fas et nefas ad se pertrahere.' Mr. Wedgwood notices rap and ran, to get by hook or crook, to seize whatever one can lay hands on, but misses the etymology. Palsgrave has--'I rap or rende, je rapine.' Coles (Eng. Dict. ed. 1684) has 'rap an[d] ren, snatch and catch.' 'All they could rap and rend and pilfer'; Butler, Hudibras, pt. ii. c. 2. 789. (First ed., rap and run.) The phrase is still in use in the (corrupted) form to rape and rend, or (in Cleveland) to rap and ree.

Briefly, rape, properly to hurry (Icel. hrapa), is a false substitute for A. S. hrepian, allied to G. raffen; whilst renne, to run, is a false substitute for A. S. hr[=i]nan, to touch, lay hold of.

1428. Arnoldus de Villa Nova was a French physician, theologian, astrologer, and alchemist; born about A. D. 1235, died A. D. 1314. Tyrwhitt refers us to Fabricius, Bibl. Med. Æt., in v. Arnaldus Villanovanus. In a tract printed in Theatrum Chemicum, iii. 285, we have a reference to the same saying--'Et hoc est illud quod magni philosophi scripserunt, quod lapis noster fit ex Mercurio et sulphure praeparatis et separatis, et de hoc opere et substantia dicit Magister Arnoldus in tractatu suo parabolice, nisi granum frumenti in terra cadens mortuum fuerit, &c. Intelligens pro grano mortuo in terra, Mercurium mortuum cum sale petrae et vitriolo Romano, et cum sulphure; et ibi mortificatur, et ibi sublimatur cum igne, et sic multum fructus adfert, et hic est lapis major omnibus, quem philosophi quaesiverunt, et inventum absconderunt.' The whole process is described, but it is quite unintelligible to me. It is clear that two circumstances stand very much in the way of our being able to follow out such processes; these are (1) that the same substance was frequently denoted by six or seven different names; and (2) that one name (such as sulphur) denoted five or six different things (such as sulphuric acid, orpiment, sulphuret of arsenic, &c.).

1429. Rosarie, i. e. Rosarium Philosophorum, the name of a treatise on alchemy by Arnoldus de Villa Nova; Theat. Chem. iv. 514.

1431. The word mortification seems to have been loosely used to denote any change due to chemical action. Phillips explained Mortify by--'Among chymists, to change the outward form or shape of a mixt body; as when quicksilver, or any other metal, is dissolved in an acid menstruum.'

1432. 'Unless it be with the knowledge (i. e. aid) of his brother.' The 'brother' of Mercury was sulphur or brimstone (see l. 1439). The dictum itself is, I suppose, as worthless as it is obscure.

1434. Hermes, i. e. Hermes Trismegistus, fabled to have been the inventor of alchemy. Several books written by the New Platonists in the fourth century were ascribed to him. Tyrwhitt notes that a treatise under his name may be found in the Theatrum Chemicum, vol. iv. See Fabricius, Bibliotheca Graeca, lib. i. c. 10; and Smith's Classical Dictionary. The name is preserved in the phrase 'to seal hermetically.' [433]

Mr. Furnivall printed, for the Early Eng. Text Society, a tract called The Book of Quinte Essence, 'a tretice in Englisch breuely drawe out of the book of quintis essenciis in latyn, that Hermys the prophete and kyng of Egipt, after the flood of Noe, fadir of philosophris, hadde by reuelacioun of an aungil of god to him sende.'

1438. dragoun, dragon. Here, of course, it means mercury, or some compound containing it. In certain processes, the solid residuum was also called draco or draco qui comedit caudam suam. This draco and the cauda draconis are frequently mentioned in the old treatises; see Theatrum Chemicum, iii. 29, 36, &c. The terms may have been derived from astrology, since 'dragon's head' and 'dragon's tail' were common terms in that science. Chaucer mentions the latter in his Astrolabe, ii. 4. 23. And see 'Draco' in Theat. Chem. ii. 456.

1440. sol and luna, gold and silver. The alchemists called sol (gold) the father, and luna (silver) the mother of the elixir or philosopher's stone. See Theat. Chem. iii. 9, 24, 25; iv. 528. Similarly, sulphur was said to be the father of minerals, and mercury the mother. Id. iii. 7.

1447. secree, secret of secrets. Tyrwhitt notes--'Chaucer refers to a treatise entitled Secreta Secretorum, which was supposed to contain the sum of Aristotle's instructions to Alexander. See Fabricius, Bibliotheca Graeca, vol. ii. p. 167. It was very popular in the middle ages. Ægidius de Columnâ, a famous divine and bishop, about the latter end of the 13th century, built upon it his book De Regimine Principum, of which our Occleve made a free translation in English verse, and addressed it to Henry V. while Prince of Wales. A part of Lydgate's translation of the Secreta Secretorum is printed in Ashmole's Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum, p. 397. He did not translate more than about half of it, being prevented by death. See MS. Harl. 2251, and Tanner, Bibl. Brit. s. v. Lydgate. The greatest part of the viith Book of Gower's Confessio Amantis [see note to l. 820] is taken from this supposed work of Aristotle.' In the Theatrum Chemicum, iii. 14, I find an allusion to the philosopher's stone ending with these words--'Et Aristoteles ad Alexandrum Regem dicit in libro de secretis secretorum, capitulo penultimo: O Alexander, accipe lapidem mineralem, vegetabilem, et animalem, et separa elementa.' See Warton, Hist. Eng. Poetry, sect. 19; iii. 19 (ed. 1871), or ii. 230 (ed. 1840).

1450. Tyrwhitt says--'The book alluded to is printed in the Theatrum Chemicum, vol. v. p. 219 [p. 191, ed. 1660], under this title, Senioris Zadith fil. Hamuelis Tabula Chemica. The story which follows of Plato and his disciples is there told, p. 249 [p. 224, ed. 1660], with some variations, of Solomon. "Dixit Salomon rex, Recipe lapidem qui dicitur Thitarios (sic).... Dixit sapiens, Assigna mihi illum.... Dixit, Est corpus magnesiae.... Dixit, Quid est magnesia?... Respondit, Magnesia est aqua, composita," &c.' The name of Plato [434] occurs thrice only a few lines below, which explains Chaucer's mistake. We find 'Titan Magnesia' in Ashmole's Theat. Chem. p. 275; cf. pp. 42, 447. The Gk. [Greek: titanos] means lime, gypsum, white earth, chalk, &c.

1457. ignotum per ignotius, lit. an unknown thing through a thing more unknown; i. e. an explanation of a hard matter by means of a term that is harder still.

1460. The theory that all things were made of the four elements, earth, air, fire, and water, was the foundation on which all alchemy was built; and it was the obstinacy with which this idea was held that rendered progress in science almost impossible. The words were used in the widest sense; thus air meant any vapour or gas; water, any liquid; earth, any solid sediment; and fire, any amount of heat. Hence also the theory of the four complexions of men; for even man was likewise composed of the four elements, under the influence of the planets and stars. See Gower, Conf. Amant. bk. vii; Theat. Chem. iii. 82; iv. 533, 537; and the note to A. 420, at p. 40 above.

1461. rote represents the Lat. radix. In the Theat. Chem., ii. 463, we read that the philosopher's stone 'est radix, de quo omnes sapientes tractauerunt.'

1469. 'Except where it pleases His Deity to inspire mankind, and again, to forbid whomsoever it pleases Him.'

1479. terme of his lyve, during the whole term of his life.

1481. bote of his bale, a remedy for his evil, help out of his trouble.

* * * * *

[435]

NOTES TO GROUP H.

THE MANCIPLE'S PROLOGUE.

1. Wite ye, know ye. The singular is I woot, A. S. ic w[=a]t, Moeso-Goth. ik wait; the plural is we witen or we wite, A. S. we witon, Moeso-Goth. weis witum. See l. 82, where the right form occurs. But it is certain that Chaucer also uses the construction ye woot, as in A. 829, &c.; which, strictly speaking, was ungrammatical.

2. Bob-up-and-doun. This place is here described as being 'under the Blee,' i. e. under Blean Forest. It is also between Boughton-under-Blean (see Group G, l. 556) and Canterbury. This situation suits very well with Harbledown, and it has generally been supposed that Harbledown is here intended. Harbledown is spelt Herbaldoun in the account of Queen Isabella's journey to Canterbury (see Furnivall's Temporary Preface, p. 31; p. 124, l. 18; p. 127, l. 21), and Helbadonne in the account of King John's journey (id. p. 131, l. 1). However, Mr. J. M. Cowper, in a letter to The Athenæum, Dec. 26, 1868, p. 886, says that there still exists a place called Up-and-down Field, in the parish of Thannington, which would suit the position equally well, and he believes it to be the place really meant. If so, the old road must have taken a somewhat different direction from the present one, and there are reasons for supposing that such may have been the case. This letter is reprinted in Furnivall's Temporary Preface (Ch. Soc.), p. 32.

The break here between the Canon's Yeoman's and the Manciple's Tales answers to the break between the first and second parts of Lydgate's Storie of Thebes. At the end of Part I, Lydgate mentions the descent down the hill (i. e. Boughton hill), and at the beginning of Part II, he says that the pilgrims, on their return from Canterbury, had 'passed the thorp of Boughton-on-the-blee.'

5. Dun is in the myre, a proverbial saying originally used in an old rural sport. Dun means a dun horse, or, like Bayard, a horse in general. The game is described in Brand's Popular Antiquities, 4to. ii. 289; and in Gifford's notes to Ben Jonson, vol. vii. p. 283. The latter explanation is quoted by Nares, whom see. Briefly, the game was of this kind. A large log of wood is brought into the midst of a kitchen or large room. The cry is raised that 'Dun is in the mire,' [436] i. e. that the cart-horse is stuck in the mud. Two of the company attempt to drag it along; if they fail, another comes to help, and so on, till Dun is extricated.

There are frequent allusions to it; see Hoccleve, De Regimine Principum, p. 86; Skelton, Garland of Laurell, l. 1433; Towneley Mysteries, p. 310; Romeo and Juliet, i. 4. 41; Beaumont and Fletcher's Woman-hater, iv. 3; Hudibras, pt. iii. c. iii. l. 110.

In the present passage it means--'we are all at a standstill'; or 'let us make an effort to move on.' Mr. Hazlitt, in his Proverbial Phrases, quotes a line--'And all gooth bacward, and don is in the myr.'

12. Do him come forth, make him come forward. Cf. Group B, 1888, 1889.

14. a botel hay, a bottle of hay; similarly, we have a barel ale, Monk's Prol. B. 3083. And see l. 24 below. A bottle of hay was a small bundle of hay, less than a truss, as explained in my note to The Two Noble Kinsmen, v. 2. 45. 'Nec vendant [foenum] per botellum'; Liber Albus, p. 721.

16. by the morwe, in the morning. There is no need to explain away the phrase, or to say that it means in the afternoon, as Tyrwhitt does. The Canon's Yeoman's tale is the first told on the third day, and the Manciple's is only the second. The Cook seems to have taken too much to drink over night, and to have had something more before starting. The fresh air has kept him awake for a while at first, but he is now very drowsy indeed.

Tyrwhitt well remarks that there is no allusion here to the unfinished Cook's Tale in Group A. This seems to shew that the Manciple's Prologue was written before the Cook's Tale was begun. Note that the Cook is here excused; l. 29.

23. 'I know not why, but I would rather go to sleep than have the best gallon of wine in Cheapside.' me were lever slepe, lit. it would be dearer to me to sleep.

24. Than constitutes the first foot; beste is dissyllabic.

29. as now, for the present; a common phrase.

33. not wel disposed, indisposed in health.

42. fan, the fan or vane or board of the quintain. The quintain, as is well known, consisted of a cross-bar turning on a pivot at the top of a post. At one end of the cross-bar was the fan or board, sometimes painted to look like a shield, and at the other was a club or bag of sand. The jouster at the fan had to strike the shield, and at the same time to avoid the stroke given by the swinging bag. The Cook was hardly in a condition for this; his eye and hand were alike unsteady, and his figure did not suggest that he possessed the requisite agility. See Quintain in Nares, and Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, bk. iii. c. 1; As You Like It, i. 2. 263, on which see Mr. Wright's note (Clar. Press Series); Stow, Survey of London, ed. Thoms, pp. 36, 215.

44. wyn ape, ape-wine, or ape's wine. Tyrwhitt rightly considers this the same as the vin de singe in the Calendrier des Bergers, sign. [437] l. ii. b., where the author speaks of the different effects produced by wine upon different men, according to their temperaments. 'The Cholerick, he says, a vin de lyon; cest a dire, quant a bien beu, veult tanser, noyser, et battre. The Sanguine a vin de singe; quant a plus beu, tant est plus joyeux. In the same manner, the Phlegmatic is said to have vin de mouton, and the Melancholick vin de porceau.'

Tyrwhitt adds--'I find the same four animals applied to illustrate the effects of wine in a little Rabbinical tradition, which I shall transcribe here from Fabricius, Cod. Pseudepig. Veteris Testamenti, vol. i. p. 275. "Vineas plantanti Noacho Satanam se junxisse memorant, qui, dum Noa vites plantaret, mactaverit apud illas ovem, leonem, simiam, et suem: Quod principio potûs vini homo sit instar ovis, vinum sumptum efficiat ex homine leonem, largius haustum mutet eum in saltantem simiam, ad ebrietatem infusum transformet illum in pollutam et prostratam suem." See also Gesta Romanorum, c. 159, where a story of the same purport is quoted from Josephus, in libro de casu rerum naturalium.' Wine of ape occurs in a detailed proverb, in Le Roux de Lincy, Prov. Franç. 1842, p. 157. The most ancient source is the Talmudical Parable, given in Rabbinische Blumenlese, Leipzig, 1844, p. 192, by Leopold Dukes (N. and Q. S. i. xii. 123).

In Bernardus de Cura Rei Familiaris, ed. Lumby, p. 13, a drunken man is thus described:--

'And qhuilis a nape, to mak mowis as a fule, Bot as a sow, quhen he fallis in a pule.'

And Lydgate, in his Troy-book, L. 1, back, col. 2, says of one:--'And with a strawe playeth lyke an ape.'

Warton (Hist. E. P. ed. 1871, i. 283) gives a slight sketch of chapter 159 in the Gesta, referring to Tyrwhitt's note, and explaining it in the words--'when a man begins to drink, he is meek and ignorant as the lamb, then becomes bold as the lion, his courage is soon transformed into the foolishness of the ape, and at last he wallows in the mire like a sow.'

In Colyn Blowboll's Testament, l. 280 (pr. in Hazlitt's Early Pop. Poetry, i. 104-5) we find:--

'Such as wilbe drongen (sic) as an ape ... And in such caas often tymes they be That one may make them play with strawes thre.'

Barclay, in his Ship of Fools, ed. Jamieson, i. 96, speaking of drunken men, says--

'Some sowe-dronke, swaloyng mete without mesure.'

And again--

'Some are Ape-dronke, full of lawghter and of toyes.'

The following interesting explanation by Lacroix is much to the same effect:--

'In Germany and in France it was the custom at the public entries [438] of kings, princes, and persons of rank, to offer them the wines made in the district, and commonly sold in the town. At Langres, for instance, these wines were put into four pewter vessels called cimaises, which are still to be seen. They were called the lion, monkey, sheep, and pig wines--symbolic names, which expressed the different degrees or phases of drunkenness which they were supposed to be capable of producing: the lion, courage; the monkey, cunning; the sheep, good temper; the pig, bestiality.'--P. Lacroix; Manners, Customs, and Dress during the Middle Ages, 1874, p. 508.

Massinger has: 'Nay, if you are lion-drunk, I will make one'; The Bondman, A. iii. sc. 3.

A note in Bell's edition quotes an illustrative passage from a song in Lyly's play of Mother Bombie, printed in the Songs from the Dramatists, ed. Bell, p. 56:--

'O the dear blood of grapes Turns us to antic shapes, Now to show tricks like apes, Now lion-like to soar'; &c.

The idea here intended is precisely that expressed by Barclay. The Cook, being very dull and ill-humoured, is ironically termed ape-drunk, as if he were 'full of lawghter and of toyes,' and ready to play even with a straw. The satire was too much for the Cook, who became excited, and fell from his horse in his attempts to oppose the Manciple.

50. chiváchee, feat of horsemanship, exploit. See Prol. 85 for the serious use of the word, where in chivachye means on an (equestrian) expedition. Cf.

'Bot oute sal ride a chivauchè'; Ritson's Ancient Songs, vol. i. p. 46.

51. 'Alas! he did not stick to his ladle!' He should have been in a kitchen, basting meat, not out of doors, on the back of a horse.

57. dominacioun, dominion. See note to F. 352. Cf. 'the righteous shall have domination over them in the morning'; Ps. xlix. 14, Prayer-book Version. See Chaucer's Minor Poems, xv. 16 (vol. i. p. 394).

62. fneseth, blows, puffs; of which the reading sneseth is a poor corruption, though occurring in all the modern editions. To fnese does not mean to sneeze, but to breathe hard; though sneeze is its modern form.

I have no doubt that the word neesings in Job xli. 18, meaning not 'sneezings' but 'hard breathings,' is due to the word fnesynge, by which Wyclif translates the Latin sternutatio. In Jer. viii. 16, Wyclif represents the snorting of horses by fnesting. Cf. A. S. fnæst, a puff, blast, fnæstiað, the windpipe; fn[=e]osung, a hard breathing. Grimm's law helps us to a further illustration; for, as the English f is a Greek p, a cognate word is at once seen in the common Greek verb [Greek: pneô], I breathe or blow. For further examples, see fnast in Stratmann.

pose, a cold in the head. Fully described in Batman upon Bartholomè, lib. vii. c. 4--'Of the Pose.' See A. 4152. [439]

72. To reclaim a hawk is to bring it back to the hawker's hand; this was generally effected by holding out a lure, or something tempting to eat. For young hawks, the lure was an artificial bird made of feathers and leather; see note in Dyce's Skelton, ii. 147. Here the Host means that some day the Cook will hold out a bait to, or lay a snare for, the Manciple, and get him into his power; for example, he might examine the details of the Manciple's accounts with an inconvenient precision, and perhaps the amounts charged, if tested, would not appear to be strictly honest. The Manciple replies in all good humour, that such a proceeding might certainly bring him into trouble. See Prol. 570-586. Cf. Strutt, Sports, bk. i. c. 2. § 9.

76. Read mauncipl', and pronounce were a rapidly.

83. 'Yea, of an excellent vintage.'

90. pouped, blown; see Nonne Prestes Tale, 578. Here 'blown upon this horn' is a jocular phrase for 'taken a drink out of this gourd.'

THE MAUNCIPLES TALE.

This story, of Eastern origin, is told in Ovid's Metamorphoses, bk. ii. ll. 534-550, whence Chaucer evidently took it. Gower, also following Ovid, gives the story very briefly; see his Conf. Amantis, ed. Pauli, i. 305. Compare the tale of the three cocks, Gesta Romanorum, cap. 68; also the Seven Sages, ed. Weber, l. 2201 (Metrical Rom. vol. iii. p. 86). Somewhat similar in idea is a tale in the Knight de la Tour, c. 16. See further in vol. iii. p. 501.

109. Phitoun, the Python, shot by Apollo; see Ovid, Met. i. 438-444; Dryden, trans. of Ovid's Met., i. 587.

116. Amphioun, Amphion; see note to E. 1716. Cf. Horace, De Arte Poetica, l. 394.

133.

'Nam fuit haec quondam niveis argentea pennis Ales, ut aequaret totas sine labe columbas.' Ovid, Met. ii. 536.

Gower has:--'Wel more white than any swan.'

139. Ovid gives her name, Coronis of Larissa.

148. As indicated by a side-note in Hn., this passage is taken directly from the Liber Aureolus de Nuptiis of Theophrastus, as cited by St. Jerome near the end of the first Book of his treatise against Jovinian. Cf. note to D. 221.

The passage from Theophrastus is:--'Verum quid prodest etiam diligens custodia: cum uxor seruari impudica non possit, pudica non debeat? Infida enim custos est castitatis necessitas: et illa uere pudica dicenda est, cui licuit peccare si uoluit. Pulchra cito adamatur, foeda facile concupiscit. Difficile custoditur, quod plures amant.'--Hieron. Opus Epistolarum (Basil. 1534); ii. 51.

161. Cf. Horace, Epist. I. x. 24--'Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret,' &c. And this is the very passage which Chaucer had [440] in view, as it is quoted and commented on in Le Roman de la Rose, 14221-8, &c. Jean de Meun adds the comment:--

'Que vaut ce? Toute créature Vuet retorner à sa nature. Jà nel' erra por violence De force, ne de convenance.'

This passage in Le Roman is preceded by the illustration of the caged bird, and followed by that of the cat; see ll. 163, 175. Further, Jean de Meun took the illustration of the caged bird from Boethius; see next note.

163. From Boethius; see the note to F. 607. It reappears in Le Roman de la Rose, 14145-62; beginning--

'Li oisillons du vert boscage, Quant il est pris et mis en cage,' &c.

Compare Sq. Ta., F. 611-617. It is interesting to see how Chaucer has repeated the passage, and yet so greatly varied the form of it. We find, however, that silk and milk rime together in both cases.

175. Not from Boethius, but from Le Roman de la Rose, 14241, &c.:--

'Qui prendroit, biau filz, ung chaton Qui onques rate ne raton Véu n'auroit, puis fust noris Sans jà véoir ras ne soris, Lonc tens par ententive cure De délicieuse pasture, Et puis véist soris venir, N'est riens qui le péust tenir, Se l'en le lessoit eschaper, Qu'il ne l'alast tantost haper.'

183. This is taken from a different part of Le Roman altogether, and is founded on a different argument, viz. the perversity of women's choice, as noticed in ll. 198-200 below. See Le Rom. de la Rose, 7799-7804:--

'Le vaillant homme arriere boute Et prent le pire de la route: Là norrit ses amors, et couve Tout autresinc cum fait la louve, Cui sa folie tant empire, Qu'el prent des lous tretout le pire.'

vileins kinde, nature of a villain, a villainous or base disposition. Practically, vileins has here the force of an adjective, and came to be so regarded, as shewn by the formation from it of the adv. vileinsly, which occurs in I. 154, and elsewhere. Similarly, the gen. case wonders became the adj. wonders, which was gradually turned into wondrous; see Wondrous in my Etym. Dictionary.

This adj. vileyns, with the sense of 'villainous,' is unnoticed in [441] Halliwell and Stratmann. Yet Chaucer uses it often, as the reader may see for himself. See D. 1158, 1268, I. 556, 631, 652, 715, 802, 854, 914; and hence vileinsly, adv., I. 154, 279, Rom. Rose, 1498.

193. newefangel, eager of novelty; see note to F. 618.

195. souneth in-to, accords with; see notes to A. 307, B. 3157, C. 54, and F. 517.

204. lemman, short for leef man, lit. dear man. The context shews that it was considered a 'knavish' word at this period.

207-8. Repeated from Prol. 741-2; see note to A. 741.

215. The line, as it stands, is deficient in the first foot, and is not pleasing. Tyrwhitt reads any for a. This improves it; but I do not know where he found any. The old editions of 1550 and 1561 have a, like the MSS.

220. wenche, like lemman, was a 'knavish' word; see E. 2202.

223. titlelees, title-less, glossed in Hn. by the words sine titulo. It means 'usurping,' as applied to one who has no title or claim to a throne except force. Obviously written before 1399!

224. Here out-law-e is trisyllabic, and the final e is preserved by the caesura. But in l. 231 the accent is thrown back, and it is dissyllabic, as in modern English. Tyrwhitt puts any for a, against all authority.

227. This well-known story of Alexander occurs in the Gesta Romanorum, c. 146; and this circumstance gave it vogue. In Swan's translation, the tale begins thus:--'Augustine tells us in his book, De Civitate Dei, that Diomedes, in a piratical galley, for a long time infested the sea, plundering and sinking many ships. Being captured by command of Alexander, before whom he was brought, the king inquired how he dared to molest the seas. "How darest thou," replied he, "molest the earth? Because I am master only of a single galley, I am termed a robber; but you, who oppress the world with huge squadrons, are called a king and a conquerour."' John of Salisbury repeats the story in his Policraticus, lib. iii. c. 14. Cf. Higden, Polychron. iii. 422.

239. volage, giddy, thoughtless; cf. E. volatile. See the E. version of the Romaunt of the Rose, l. 1284 (vol. i. p. 147).

243. It was already understood that cuckoo was, as Shakespeare says, 'a word of fear'; see Love's Labour's Lost, v. 2. 920. In the Parl. of Foules, 358, we find: 'the cukkow ever unkinde'; vol. i. p. 348.

252. blered is thyn ye, thine eye is bleared or dimmed, i. e. thou art deceived or cajoled. See A. 4049.

262. wryen, to turn aside hastily; see A. 3283.

271. scorpioun, scorpion. Alluding to the notion that the scorpion, though its sting was deadly, had a flattering tongue, and could beguile. See notes to B. 404, E. 2059.

278. rakel, rash, hasty; afterwards altered to rake-hell, by a curious popular etymology; and then shortened to rake, as in the phrase 'a dissolute rake.' See rake (2) in my Etym. Dictionary. Cf. l. 283.

279. trouble, adj., troubled, clouded, obscured. Tyrwhitt explains [442] it by 'dark, gloomy,' with reference to its occurrence in E. 465 above. And see Pers. Tale, I. 537.

Compare the Friar's sermon, on the subject of Ire, in D. 2005-2088, and the description of the same in the Pers. Tale, I. 535-561.

290. fordoon, destroyed. For and (as in E. Cm.) Hn. Cp. Pt. Ln. have or.

In place of this line, Hl. has the following extraordinary variation:--

'Fordoon, or dun hath brought hem in the myre.'

This shews that the scribe remembered the fifth line in the Manciple's Prologue, and thought fit to re-introduce it here, where it is wholly out of place. This is one of the many signs of the untrustworthiness of this grossly over-rated MS.

294. songe, didst sing; A. S. sunge.

301. See the Parl. of Foules, l. 363, and the note (vol. i. pp. 520-1).

306. slong, slung, threw violently; needlessly altered by Tyrwhitt to flong. So in the Seven Sages, ed. Weber, l. 1316:--'Amidde the pit he hit slong.' As s and f are often confused, I give some alliterative examples from the Geste Historyale of the Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.):--

'Sesit his sité, slong it to ground'; 4215. 'Slogh hym full sleghly, and slange hym to ground'; 13745. 'But the citie to sese, and slyng it to ground'; 8851.

307. which, to whom; i. e. 'to whom I commit him.'

314. Daun, Dan, i. e. lord, sir; see note to B. 3119.

Salomon, Solomon; the reference is to Prov. xxi. 23; cf. Ps. xxxiv. 13.

317. Sayings similar to those quoted below are common; but Dr. E. Köppel has shewn (in Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen, ed. L. Herrig, vol. lxxxvi, p. 44) that Chaucer had particularly in mind a treatise by Albertano of Brescia, entitled De arte loquendi et tacendi. He refers us to a new edition by Thor Sundby, in a work entitled Brunetto Latinos levnet og skrifter, Kopenhagen, 1869.

We may further compare a passage in Le Roman de la Rose, 7069, which professes to follow Ptolemy's Almagest. And we find similar pieces of advice in Middle English, with such titles as 'How the Good Wife taught her Daughter,' and 'How the Wise man taught his Son'; but these are probably later than the time of Chaucer.

325. The corresponding passage in Albertano's treatise is the following, p. xcviii:--'Paucos vel neminem tacendo, multos loquendo circumventos vidimus, quod pulchre voluit, qui ait: Nil tacuisse nocet, nocet esse saepe locutum.' This hexameter is quoted from Dionysius Cato, Distich. lib. i. dist. 12, slightly altered. Cato has: 'Nam nulli tacuisse nocet, nocet esse locutum.' Cf. the common proverb--'a fool's bolt is soon shot,' which appears in the Proverbs of Alfred, l. 421. As to Cato, see note to G. 688.

329. The corresponding passage in Albertano is:--'Causa igitur finalis tui dicti sit aut pro Dei servitio aut pro humano commodo, aut pro utroque'; p. cx. [443]

332. In Albertano's treatise, p. xcvi, we find:--'Catho dixit: Virtutem primam esse puta compescere linguam.' From Dion. Cato, Distich. lib. i. dist. 3. Chaucer quotes it again in Troilus, iii. 294. Cf. Le Rom. de la Rose, 7073-4.

335. Cf. Albertano, p. cxv:--'In quantitate insuper modum requiras non multa dicendo; nam in multiloquio non deest peccatum.' This refers to Prov. x. 19:--'In multiloquio non deerit peccatum.'

340. Cf. Ps. lvii. 4:--'and their tongue a sharp sword.'

344. See Prov. vi. 17, where 'a lying tongue' is said to be one of the seven things which 'are an abomination unto' the Lord. See also Prov. x. 31, xvii. 20, xxvi. 28, &c.

345. Cf. Ps. x. 7, xii. 3, lii. 2, lxiv. 3-8, cxx. 3, &c. The reference to Seneca is, probably, to his treatise De Ira, from which two stories in the Sompnours Tale are taken; or it may be to the Sentences of Publilius Syrus, which are frequently quoted in the Tale of Melibeus under the name of 'Senek.'

350. Evidently an allusion to some Flemish proverb, equivalent to our 'least said, soonest mended,' which Hazlitt gives in the form--'Little said, soon amended.' In Bell's edition, the suggested form of the proverb is--'of little meddling comes great ease,' which comes nearer to the text. Chaucer has already given us a Flemish proverb in A. 4357.

355. 'Et semel emissum fugit irreuocabile uerbum'; Horace, Epist. I. xviii. 71. Chaucer found this line of Horace in Albertano's treatise (p. xcviii); or in Le Roman, 16746-8.

357. Cf. Albertano's treatise, p. cvi:--'Consilium vel secretum tuum absconditum quasi in carcere tuo est reclusum; revelatum vero te in carcere suo tenet ligatum.'

359. This is clearly, as Tyrwhitt suggests, from Dionysius Cato, Distich. lib. i. dist. 12:--'Rumores fuge, ne incipias novus auctor haberi.'

* * * * *

[444]

NOTES TO GROUP I.

THE PARSON'S PROLOGUE.

1. maunciple, manciple; see the last Tale. But there is no real connexion between this Group and Group H. It is most likely that the word maunciple was only inserted provisionally.

When the Manciple had told his Tale, it was still only morning; see H. 16, and the note. The Pilgrims, however, had not far to go. Perhaps we may suppose that they halted on the road, having a shorter day's work before them than on previous occasions, and then other Tales might have been introduced; so that the time wore away till the afternoon came. It is clear, from l. 16, that the Parson's Tale was intended, when the final reversion should be made, to be the last on the outward journey. Whatever difficulties exist in the arrangement of the Tales may fairly be considered as due to the fact, that the final revision was never made.

4. nyne and twenty. In my Preface to Chaucer's Astrolabe (E. E. T. S.), p. lxiii, I have explained this passage fully. In that treatise, part ii. sections 41-43, Chaucer explains the method of taking altitudes. He here says that the sun was 29° high, and in ll. 6-9 he says that his height was to his shadow in the proportion of 6 to 11. This comes to the same thing, since the angle whose tangent is 6/11 is very nearly 29°. Chaucer would know this, as I have shewn, by simple inspection of an astrolabe, without calculation.

5. Foure, four P. M. Many MSS. have Ten, but the necessity of the correction is undoubted. This was proved by Mr. Brae, in his edition of Chaucer's Astrolabe, pp. 71-74. We have merely to remember that ten P. M. would be after sunset, to see that some alteration must be made. Now the altitude of the sun was 29°, and the day of the year was about April 20; and these data require that the time of day should be about 4 P. M. Tyrwhitt notes that some MSS. actually have the reading Foure, and this gives us authority for the change. Mr. Brae suggests that the reading Ten was very likely a gloss upon Foure; since four o'clock is the tenth hour of the day, reckoning from 6 A. M. The whole matter is thus accounted for. [445]

10. the mones exaltacioun, the moon's exaltation. I have discussed this passage in my Preface to Chaucer's Astrolabe, (E. E. T. S.), p. lxiii. Of course Chaucer uses exaltation here (as in other passages) in its ordinary astrological sense. The 'exaltation' of a planet is that sign in which it was believed to exert its greatest influence; and, in accordance with this, the old tables call Taurus the 'exaltation of the Moon,' and Libra the 'exaltation of Saturn.' These results, founded on no reasons, had to be remembered by sheer effort of memory, if remembered at all. I have no doubt, accordingly, that Chaucer (or his scribes) has made a mistake here, and that the reading should be 'Saturnes,' as proposed by Tyrwhitt. The sentence then means--'Therewith Saturn's exaltation, I mean Libra, kept on continually ascending above the horizon.' This would be quite right, as the sign of Libra was actually ascending at the time supposed. The phrase 'I mene Libra' may be paralleled by the phrase 'I mene Venus'; Kn. Tale, 1358 (A. 2216); see also Group B. 1860, 2141. alwey, continually, is common in Chaucer; see Clerkes Tale, E. 458, 810. gan ascende, did ascend, is the opposite to gan descende; Clerkes Tale, E. 392. It is somewhat remarkable that the astrologers also divided each sign into three equal parts of ten degrees each, called 'faces'; mentioned in Chaucer's Astrolabe, ii. 4. 39, and in the Squieres Tale, F. 50. According to this arbitrary scheme, the first 10 degrees of Libra were called the 'face of the moon,' or 'mones face.' This suggests that Chaucer may, at the moment, have confused face with exaltation, thus giving us, as the portion of the zodiac intended, the first ten degrees of Libra.

I doubt if the phrase is worth further discussion. For further information, see my Preface to Chaucer's Astrolabe (as above); and, for an ingenious (but impossible and unconvincing) theory, offered in explanation of the whole passage, see Mr. Brae's edition of the same, p. 74. Most unfortunately, more than one attempt has been made to fix the date of the Canterbury Tales, by adopting as the true reading the phrase 'In mene Libra,' and then pretending that the moon itself (not its exaltation) was 'in the middle of Libra.' But this reading is evolved out of a mistake in MS. Hl., which (after all) has not In mene, but In mena (!); neither does In mene mean 'in the middle.' All calculations founded on this rotten basis are necessarily worthless.

16. This means that the Parson's Tale was meant to be the last one on the outward journey. Unfortunately, there lack a great many more tales than one, as the matter really stands.

26. 'Unpack your wallet, and let us see what is in it.' In other words, tell us a story, and let us see what it is like.

32. See 1 Tim. i. 4, iv. 7; 2 Tim. iv. 4.

42. Southren. Nearly all alliterative poems are in the Northern or West-Midland dialect, as opposed to the East-Midland dialect of Chaucer, which approaches the Southern dialect. Still, it is the Parson himself, not Chaucer, who says he is a Southerner; though [446] perhaps the poet meant, naturally enough, to tell us that he was himself resident in Kent (probably at Greenwich). The dialect of Kent was Southern. Many Southern forms occur in Gower.

43. rum, ram, ruf are of course nonsense words, chosen to represent alliteration, because they all alike begin with r. In most alliterative poetry, the number of words in a line beginning with a common letter is, as Chaucer suggests, three.

The word geste here means no more than 'tell a story,' without reference to the form of the story. It is, however, worth noting that one very long alliterative poem on the siege of Troy, edited by Panton and Donaldson (Early English Text Society), bears the title of 'Gest Hystoriale.' The number of distinctively Northern words in it is very considerable.

I think that this line has been forced by some out of its true meaning, and made to convey a sneer against alliterative poetry which was by no means intended. Neither Chaucer himself nor his amiable parson would have spoken slightingly of other men's labours. The introduction of the words rum, ram, ruf conveys no more than a perfectly good-humoured allusion. That this is the true view is clear from the very next line, where the Parson declares that 'he holds rime but little better.'

The most interesting question is--why should Chaucer allude to alliterative poetry at all? The answer is, in my view, that he distinctly wished to recognise the curious work of his contemporary William, whose Vision of Piers the Plowman had, by this time, passed, as it were, into a second edition, having been extremely popular in London, and especially amongst the lower classes. The author was not a Southerner, but his poem had come to London, together with himself, before A. D. 1377.

In his play entitled The Old Wives' Tale, Peele introduces a character named Huanebango who imitates the spluttering hexameters used by Stanyhurst in his translation of a part of Vergil's Æneid, and afterwards says:--'I'll now set my countenance, and to her in prose; it may be, this rim-ram-ruf is too rude an encounter.' He evidently borrowed the expression from Chaucer.

I may further observe that Chaucer did not invent these nonsense words himself; he probably borrowed them from some French source. For, in Sigart's Walloon Dictionary, we find these entries following.

'Rim ni ram (ça n'a ni), cela n'a ni rime ni raison.

Rim-ram, protocole, formulaire: C'est toudi l'même rim-ram, c'est toujours la même chanson.'

Again, in the Dispute between the Soul and the Body (Vernon MS.), printed in Wright's edition of Walter Mapes, p. 340, col. 2, we find:--

'For to bere thi word so wyde, And maken of the rym and raf.'

51. Alluding to Rev. xxi. 2. There is also here a direct reference to the opening sentences of the Persones Tale; see I. 79, 80. [447]

57. textuel, literally exact in giving the text. The next line means 'I only gather (and give you) the general meaning.' Most quotations at this period were very inexact, and Chaucer was no more exact than others.

67. hadde the wordes. Tyrwhitt says--'This is a French phrase. It is applied to the Speaker of the Commons in Rot. Parl. 51 Edw. III. n. 87: "Mons. Thomas de Hungerford, Chivaler, qi avoit les paroles pur les Communes d'Angleterre en cest Parlement," &c.' It means--was the spokesman.

THE PERSONES TALE.

A considerable portion of this Tale (chiefly after § 23) is borrowed from a French Treatise by Frère Lorens, entitled 'La Somme des Vices et des Vertus,' the very treatise of which the Ayenbite of Inwyt is a translation. This treatise, says Dr. Morris, 'was composed in the year 1279 for the use of Philip the Second of France, by Frère Lorens (or Laurentius Gallus, as he is designated in Latin), of the order of Friars Preachers' or Dominicans. There are two MS. copies of this treatise in the British Museum, viz. MS. Cotton, Cleopatra, A. v., and the Royal MS. 19 C. ii.

The printed text (circa 1495) is scarce; but numerous quotations from the Cotton MS. are given by Dr. W. Eilers, in Essays on Chaucer, Part V., pp. 501-610, published by the Chaucer Society. I occasionally give extracts from these quotations below, and I simply denote them by the symbol 'Fr.' I also use 'Ayenb.' to denote the Ayenbite of Inwyt, ed. Morris (E. E. T. S.). An interesting review, by Dr. Koch, of this essay by Eilers, will be found in Anglia, vol. v. pt. ii. p. 130.

The 'sections' (marked §) into which the Tale is divided are the same as in Tyrwhitt's edition, though he does not number them. Still, it renders reference to that edition an easy matter.

The clauses or 'lines,' or short subdivisions, are the same as in the Six-text edition. Each 'line' ends with a slanting stroke, as in the Tale of Melibee, and they are numbered 'by fives' in the margin.

TEXT. The 'text' at the head of the Tale is taken from the Vulgate version of Jer. vi. 16. The usual reading for viis is semitis.

I have only partially succeeded in finding the numerous quotations. For some of the references I am indebted to the Rev. E. Marshall.

75. A note in Bell's Chaucer suggests that we should read--'that wole that no man,' &c.; inserting wole that. But the old edd. agree with the MSS.; and the text is right as it stands. That no man wole perisse = that wishes no one to perish. For this common use of wole, see the very next phrase, which means--'but desires that we may all come.' The reference is to 2 Pet. iii. 9, where Wyclif's later version has a similar turn of expression, viz. 'and wole not that ony men perische, but that alle turne ayen to penaunce.' [448]

77. A translation of Jer. vi. 16 above; it is nearest to Wyclif's earlier version: 'Stondeth up-on weies, and seeth, and asketh of the olde pathis, what is the goode weie; and goth in it, and yee shul fynde refreshinge to youre soules.'

79. espirituels, the pl. (French) adj. in s, following its sb.; see B. 2038, F. 1278.

80. Alluding to ll. 50, 51 of the Prologue to this Tale.

82. whennes it is cleped Penitence; our author entirely forgets this clause in the sequel, and takes no more notice of the point here noted.

84. 'Poenitentia est et mala praeterita plangere, et plangenda iterum non committere'; S. Ambrosii Opera, Appendix, Sermo xxv; ed. Migne (Cursus Patrologicus), vol. 17, col. 655.

The quotations, chiefly from the Latin fathers, in this Persones Tale, are so numerous, and often so brief and inexact, that I am not able to give the references in more than a few instances. I have, however, succeeded in finding some of them, such as the one above.

85. In the works of St. Ambrose, the following sentence occurs just above the one cited in the last note: 'Poenitentia vero est dolor cordis, et amaritudo animae pro malis quae quisque commisit.'

89. St. Isidore of Seville is here intended (born A.D. 570, died A.D. 636). Cf. 551 below, (p. 603). I find no passage which precisely answers to this quotation, but I think the following is intended: 'Nam qui plangit peccatum, et iterum admittit peccatum, quasi si quis lavet laterem crudum, quem quanto magis eluerit, tanto amplius lutum facit.'--S. Isidorus, Sententiarum lib. ii. c. 13; ed. Migne, vol. 83, col. 613. Here Isidore does not call the sinner a 'japer,' but says that he is as foolish as a man who washes an unburnt brick; for such a process only produces more mud.

92. St. Gregory the Great, the first pope of that name, is here meant; and the following is probably the passage referred to: 'Ut intelligas in anima gravissimo iniquitatis pondere obrutum ... ut ad sublimia levari jam non valeat, quoniam iniquitatis eam [mentem] gravitudo coarctat.'--S. Gregorius, in Septem Psalmos Poenitentiales Expositio; Ps. xxvii. v. 8; ed. Migne, vol. 79, col. 572.

93. and forlete sinne, and forsake sin before they die. This expression has already occurred at the end of the Phisiciens Tale; see C. 286.

94. Note the glosses in the footnotes; thus tak means tene, i. e. 'keep to'; and siker is certum, i. e. 'sure.'

96. It is quite hopeless to make any sense of this passage. It is perfectly clear that, as Koch suggests (see Anglia, V. pt. ii. p. 135), a considerable portion of the text is here lost. And no doubt it happened in the usual way, viz. by the omission of a clause included between some repeated words, such as that a man. Our author must have described, first of all, three actions of Penitence; and afterwards, three defautes (or defects) in doing penance. All that we have left is a notice of the first action (left unexplained), and a partial [449] explanation of the three 'defautes.' I suggest, therefore, a lacuna after that a man; and I take it that the original text had: 'The firste accion of Penitence is that a man [do so and so. The second action is, that he do so and so. The third is, that he do so and so. Moreover, ye shall understand that there are three defautes in doing penance. The first is, if that a man] be baptized after that he hath sinned.' Some MSS. read that if a man or if a man before be baptized. I do not see that this helps us, because I do not think that this is where the fault really lies.

97. The quotation here meant is the following: 'Omnis enim, qui iam arbiter voluntatis suae constitutus est, cum accedit ad sacramentum fidelium, nisi eum poeniteat vitae veteris, novam non potest inchoare': Homil. l.; in Opp. Basil. 1569, tom. x. col. 552 C.

100. 'Est enim poenitentia bonorum et humilium fidelium poena quotidiana'; S. Aug. Opp. Basil. 1569, tom. ii. col. 507 A; Epist. cviii.

102. spyces, species, kinds; of frequent occurrence in this Tale.

103. The 'slaughter of children' here referred to is probably the accidental overlying of them by nurses, which was accounted a deadly sin, as being the result of negligence. This Chaucer expressly states below; see 575 (p. 604).

105. naked, i. e. thinly clad, in little more than a shirt-like garment.

108. Cf. P. Plowman, C. xvii. 29:--

'Cordis contricio cometh of sorwe in herte, And oris confessio, that cometh of shrifte of mouthe, And operis satisfactio, that for synnes payeth And for alle synnes soueraynliche quiteth: Cordis contricio, oris confessio, operis satisfactio.'

I find 'confessio' and 'cordis contritio' mentioned near together in the Latin version of St. Chrysostom's 20th homily on Genesis, cap. iv; ed. Migne, vol. liii. col. 170.

115. Not the words of Christ, but of St. John the Baptist; Matt. iii. 8.

116. See Matt. vii. 20.

119. 'Et in timore Domini declinatur a malo'; Prov. xvi. 6.

125. 'Iniquos odio habui, et legem tuam dilexi'; Ps. cxviii. (cxix.) 113.

126. Cf. Daniel iv. 10-27.

127. The reference is probably to Prov. xxviii. 13.

128. In this Penitence, i. e. in this 'spice' or particular portion of Penitence; for he is here speaking of Contrition only.

130. St. Bernard of Clairvaux. The reference may be to the following passage: 'Tertius gradus est dolor, sed et ipse trina connexione ligatus. Vere post cognitionem et poenitentiam dolor renovatus est, et in meditatione mea ignis incanduit, quia Creatorem offendi, Dominum non timui, sprevi benefactorem.'--S. Bernardus, Sermo xl. § 5; ed. Migne, vol. 183, col. 649.

134. I find nothing like this in Job; the nearest passage seems to be [450] in ch. xxxiii. vv. 26-28, where the idea of forgiveness after confession is referred to.

135. Ezechie, king Hezekiah; see Isaiah, xxxviii. 15 (Vulgate).

136. From Rev. ii. 5.

138. Referring to 2 Pet. ii. 22.

141. From Ezek. xx. 43.

142. Really from John viii. 34; but cf. 2 Pet. ii. 19.

143. Here, again, the reference is wrong. The text intended is, probably, Job xlii. 6, where the Vulgate has:--'Idcirco ipse me reprehendo, et ago poenitentiam in favilla et cinere.' Cf. Ps. xxxviii. 6.

144. The allusions to Seneca are numerous, and sentences from other authors are frequently attributed to him.

150. 'Vis ut tibi seruiat cum quo factus es, et non uis seruire ei a quo factus es? Ergo cum uis ut seruiat tibi seruus tuus homo, et tu non uis seruire Deo, facis Deo quod tu pati non uis.'--S. Aug. Opp. Basil. 1569, tom. ix. col. 929 D; De Decem Chordis, cap. x.

151. Take reward of, have regard to.

154. vileynsly; an adv. formed from the adj. vileyns, base. See 652 below; &c.

156. See Prov. xi. 22. groyn, snout. 'Groyne of a swyne, Rostrum porcinum'; Prompt. Parv. Cotgrave has:--'Groin de porceau, the snowt of a Hog.' Florio's Ital. Dict. has:--'Grugno, the snout of a hog.' The Low Lat. form is grunnus; we find--'Grunnus, Anglice a gruyn, or a wrot'; Wright-Wülcker's Gloss. col. 587, l. 23. The A. S. word is wr[=o]t; whence M. E. wroten, vb., as below.

159. This quotation is also given, in Latin, in Hampole's Pricke of Conscience, l. 4671:--'Siue comedam, siue bibam, siue aliquid aliud faciam, semper michi uidetur ilia tuba resonare in auribus meis, Surgite, mortui, uenite ad iudicium.' It occurs still earlier, in the Gesta Romanorum, cap. 37. It is not really from Jerome, but occurs in the Regula Monachorum, in S. Hieron. Opp. tom. v. App.; Paris, 1706. Cf. Lyndesay's Monarchè, book iv. l. 5606.

162. From Rom. xiv. 10.

164. essoyne, excuse; a common legal term; A. F. essoigne, essoyne; See Essoin in my Etym. Dict., 2nd ed., Addenda.

166. 'Nulla ibi dissimilatio, ubi reddenda ratio etiam de verbo otioso'; S. Bernardus, Sermo ad Prelatos in Concilio, § 5; ed. Migne, vol. 184, col. 1098.

168. This gives the general sense of Prov. i. 28.

169. 'O angustiae! Hinc erunt peccata accusantia; inde terrens iustitia; subtus patens horridum chaos inferni; desuper iratus iudex; intus urens conscientia; foris ardens mundus. Iustus uix saluabitur; peccator sic deprehensus in quam partem se premet? Constrictus ubi latebo? quomodo parebo? Latere erit impossibile; apparere intolerabile.'--S. Anselmi Meditatio Secunda; ed. Migne, vol. 158, col. 724. Cf. St. Bernard, Tractatus de Interiore Domo, cap. 22, § 46; Ancren Riwle, p. 304. [451]

174. This passage from Jerome is probably founded upon Ps. xcvii. 3, 4.

176. From Job x. 20-22.

181. Referring to the quotation above; see 177.

182. I. e. Job calls it 'dark,' because he that is in hell is deprived of natural light. Of course material is here the adjective.

183. shal turne him al to peyne, shall all become painful to him; him is here a dative. In Hampole's Pricke of Conscience, ll. 6823, 6829, we find the above quotation from Job x. 20-22; and, soon after (l. 6879), a quotation from St. Augustine which seems to be here imitated:--'Demones igne scintillante uidebunt.'

186. defautes, wants, deprivations; agayn, as compared with.

189. Not from Jeremiah, but from 1 Sam. ii. 30; cf. Mal. ii. 9.

190. fortroden of, trodden down by; see fortreden in Stratmann; A. S. fortredan.

191. This singular quotation is said, in Hampole's Pricke of Conscience, l. 8592, to be from the book of Job. The reference is to Job xx. 25, where the Vulgate has: 'uadent et uenient super eum horribiles.' The word demones is supplied in Hampole before horribiles. Even Wycliffe's version has: 'orrible fendis schulen go, and schulen come on hym.' A. V. 'terrors are upon him.'

defouled, trodden down. In Ps. cxxxviii. 11, Wycliffe has--'schulen defoule me'; Vulgate, 'conculcabunt me.'

193. Chaucer extends this quotation by the insertion of the explanatory words about 'the riche folk'; see Ps. lxxvi. 5. oneden to, united to, entirely gave up (their hearts) to. The pp. oned, united, occurs in D. 1968. See Prompt. Parv. p. 365.

195. From Deut. xxxii. 24, 33. Cf. Hampole's Pricke of Conscience, l. 6755.

198. From Isaiah xiv. 11.

201. From Micah vii. 6.

204. The reference is to the Vulgate version of Ps. x. 6 (answering to Ps. xi. 6 in the A. V.): 'Qui autem diligit iniquitatem, odit animam suam.' Cf. Prov. xxix. 24.

207. The 'five wits' are the five senses. Cf. P. Plowman, B. xiv. 53:--

'Bi so that thow be sobre of syghte and of tonge, In etynge and in handlynge, and in alle thi fyue wittis.'

208. grintinge, gnashing; cf. Matt. xiii. 42, xxv. 30.

209. nosethirles, nostrils. This seems to be taken from Jerome; for Hampole, in his Pricke of Conscience, l. 6677, says:--

'Of this Saynt Ierom, the haly man, Says thus, als I here shewe yhow can: Ibi est ignis inextinguibilis, et fetor intollerabilis.'

Isaye, Isaiah. The reference is to the Vulgate version of Isaiah, xxiv. 9:--'amara erit potio bibentibus illam.' But I may remark, [452] that the corresponding passage in Hampole's Pricke of Conscience refers us, at l. 6770, to Job xx. 16; and that the word 'gall' occurs in Job xx. 14.

210. The reference is to the last verse in Isaiah.

211. Alluding to Job x. 22, already cited above; see note to 176. The Vulgate has:--'ubi umbra mortis.'

214. 'Fit ergo miseris mors sine morte, finis sine fine, defectus sine defectu, quia et mors uiuit, et finis semper incipit, et deficere defectus nescit';--S. Gregorius, Moralium lib. ix. c. 66; ed. Migne, vol. 75, col. 915.

216. From Rev. ix. 6. Cf. Hampole, Pricke of Conscience, ll. 6723, 7387.

217. Referring to the words 'et nullus ordo,' in Job x. 22; see 177 above.

218. This seems to have been the usual explanation of the passage. See the curious application of this text to the friars in Piers Plowman, B. xx. 268.

220. Referring to Ps. cvii. 34.

221. St. Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea (born in 329, died in 379). The passage alluded to is from his Homilies on the Psalms; on Ps. xxviii. 7; § 6.

223. The same text as that translated above (177) by 'grisly drede that ever shal laste.' 'Sempiternus horror inhabitat'; Job x. 22.

225. This probably refers to the words 'In inferno nulla est redemptio,' founded on Job vii. 9; see P. Plowm. C. xxi. 153.

227. From Prov. xi. 7.

229-230. I cannot trace these references. Cf. Eccl. i. 18.

236. From Ezek. xviii. 24.

248. This seems to be the refrain of a Balade. It is interesting to notice that Chaucer again quotes it, as a line of verse, in his poem on Fortune; see Minor Poems, x. 7 (vol. i. p. 383).

252. to paye with his dette, to pay his debt with.

253-4. This is evidently the same passage from St. Bernard as that referred to in Hampole's Pricke of Conscience, l. 5653:--'Sicut non peribit capillus de capite, ita non erit momentum de toto tempore, de quo sane non conqueratur.'

258. mowes, grimaces. 'Mowe, or skorne'; Prompt. Parv. p. 346. Cf. Troil. iv. 7.

273. This probably refers to Ps. lxix, which is frequently interpreted to refer to the sufferings of Christ; see vv. 7, 9, 18-21.

281. From Isaiah liii. 5.

284. From the Vulgate version of John xix. 19.

286. From Matt. i. 21.

287. From Acts iv. 12.

288. Nazarenus, an inhabitant of Nazareth.

There is a further reference to passages in which the promised Messiah is described as a n[=e]tser, i. e. a 'shoot' or 'sprout,' of Jesse. Genesius explains n[=e]tser as meaning 'a branch,' Isaiah xiv. 19, lx. 21; [453] and, metaphorically, 'a Branch of Jesse,' Isaiah xi. 1. This sense of 'branch' or 'sprout' shews the origin of the explanation of the word as 'flourishing.'

289. From Rev. iii. 20.

300. and nat repente, and (for him) not to repent; used substantively, as equivalent to 'non-repentance.' So also repenten him, to repent, is equivalent to 'repentance.'

303. 'Scio enim Deum inimicum omni criminoso'; S. Aug. De Vera Poenitentia, cap. ix; Opp. Basil. 1569, tom. iv. col. 1044 C.

307. Ps. xcvii. 10 (xcvi. 10, in the Vulgate).

309. From Ps. xxxii. 5. The words that is to seyn are superfluous.

313. sone of ire, i. e. a child of wrath; Eph. ii. 3.

315. a sory song, i. e. a mournful song.

316. The subject of this second Chapter, viz. Confession, is interrupted, in §§ 23-84, by a long description of the Seven Deadly Sins. The subject is resumed in § 85, at p. 634. As to Confession, compare the Ancren Riwle, p. 299, and Myre's Instructions for Parish Priests, p. 24.

317. And whether it oghte nedes be doon or noon. Here again, as in 83 above, Chaucer forgets this clause, and pays no more heed to the matter.

320. Before avaunte, understand he moot; i. e. and (he must) not boast of his good works. Compare Ancren Riwle, p. 317; Wyclif's Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 255.

322. From Rom. v. 12.

326-330. Compare Wycliffe's later version of Gen. iii. 1-7.

337-340. This agrees rather closely with the Ninth of the Articles of Religion.

341. refreyded, chilled, cooled. Words of Anglo-French origin have ey or ei in place of the Central French oi. Cotgrave has:--'Refroidir, to coole, to take away the heat of, to slacken, to calme.' Cotgrave also has:--'Malefice, a mischiefe; ... also, a charme (wherby hurt is done); mischievous witchery.' It is the same word as the Span. malhecho, mischief, and Shakespeare's mallecho; Hamlet, iii. 2. 146.

342. From Gal. v. 17.

343. Cf. 2 Cor. xi. 25-27.

344. From Rom. vii. 24.

345. This passage refers to St. Jerome's 22nd Epistle to Eustochium, De Virginitate, § 7 (ed. Migne, vol. 22. col. 398). A long extract from this letter is given in Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints, under Sept. 30.

348. From James i. 14.

349. From 1 John i. 8.

351. The sense shews that suggestion is really meant; but it only appears in MSS. Selden and Lansdowne; all the rest have subieccion or subieccioun, which I have therefore retained in the text. The fact is, that the words were confused in medieval Latin. Ducange gives subjectio, as used for suggestio. However, we find the words 'by wikked suggestion' just below, in l. 355.

bely, i. e. bellows; so in all the seven MSS. It is precisely the same [454] word as the mod. E. belly, notwithstanding the present difference in sense. The old sense was simply 'bag'; applied either to an inflated bag for blowing, or to the abdomen. The pl. form belies was also used in the double sense, viz. (1) a pair of bellows, and (2) bellies; in fact, a pair of bellows is still called blow-bellis in some parts of Shropshire; see Blow-bellows and Blow-bellys in Miss Jackson's Shropshire Glossary. And see the full explanations of Bellows and Belly in the New Eng. Dict.

355. 'Perhaps there may be some such passage in the Rabbinical histories of Moses, which the learned Gaulmin published in the last century (Paris, 1629, 8vo.), and which, among other traditions, contain that alluded to by St. Jude, Epist. 9.'--Tyrwhitt. An apocryphal book, called the Assumption of Moses, is mentioned by Origen.

358. Wycliffe protested against this attempted distinction between 'venial' and 'deadly' sin; see his Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 452. See also Myrc's Instructions for Parish Priests, p. 43.

362. Hazlitt gives this proverb in the form--'Many littles make a mickle'; from Camden's Remains. He adds several parallels from Ray's Proverbs. Another similar proverb is: 'A little leak will sink a great ship'; cf. 363.

363. crevace, crevice. thurrok, the holde of a ship. 'Thurrok of a schyppe, Sentina'; Prompt. Parv. The following remarkable passage occurs in The Myroure of oure Ladye, ed. Blunt (E. E. T. S.), pt. ii. pp. 108, 109:--'Noe [Noah] ioyed that hys Shyppe shulde be so pycked [pitched] wyth-in and wyth-out, that there shulde [be?] no thorrocke [bilge-water?] that myghte syee [leak, ooze in] or droppe in therto. Ye shall vnderstonde that there ys a place in the bottome of a shyppe wherein ys gatheryd all the fylthe that cometh in-to the shyppe, other by lekynge or by syinge in-to yt by the bourdes, when the shyppe is olde, or when yt is not wel pycked, or by eny other wyse. And that place stynketh ryghte fowle; and yt ys called in some contre [county] of thys londe a thorrocke. Other calle yt an hamron, and some calle yt the bulcke of the shyppe. And thys is the thorrocke that this Lesson spekyth of. For the shyppe of Noe was soo well pycked, that there gatheryd no soche fylthe therin.' It is cognate with Du. durk, Mid. Du. durck; Hexham's Du. Dict. has:--'Durck van het schip daer al het water ende vuyligheyt in loopt, The Bottom or Sink of a ship where all the water and filth runs in.' Sewel's Du. Diet, has:--'Durk (vuyl scheepswater), The foul water at the bottom of a ship.' This shews that the word meant (1) the lower part of the hold; and (2) the bilge-water that collects there. Probably a still older sense is simply 'hull'; for we find A. S. þurruc, as a gloss to 'Cumba, uel caupolus'; Wright-Wülcker's Gloss. 181. 35. And Ducange has:--'Cumba, cymba, navis, seu potius navis species ... Glossar. Arabico-Latinum; Lembus, navicula brevis, dicta et caupulus, et cumba, et lintris.... Ugutio: Cumba et cimba, ima pars navis et vicinior aquis.' [455]

This image is doubtless borrowed from St. Gregory; see Sweet's ed. of Ælfred's translation of Gregory's Pastoral Care, cap. lvii.

378. tale, relate, narrate; cf. A. 772; Will. of Palerne, 160; Gower, C. A. iii. 329. A. S. talian. Tyrwhitt reads talke.

384. I find, in Caxton's Golden Legende, the expression--'yf they had done ony venyal synne, hit was anone putte awey by the loue of charyte, lyke as a drope of water in a fornays.'--Of the Commemoration of Al Soules. See my note to P. Pl. C. vii. 338.

386. Confiteor, I confess. In the Ancren Riwle, p. 137, the editor's translation has:--'Wherefore every anchoress saith to every priest Confiteor first of all, and confesseth herself first of all, and often.'

387. Here begins the famous and very common subject of the Seven Deadly Sins, largely borrowed from the treatise by Frère Lorens mentioned above (p. 447). I give occasional quotations from the French text, marked 'Fr.,' with references to the pages of Essays on Chaucer, Part V (Chaucer Society).

I here repeat, from my note on P. Plowman, C. vii. 3, some of the references to passages in which the Seven Sins appear. See, for instance, Ælfric's Homilies, ed. Thorpe, ii. 219; Wyclif's Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 119, 225; The Ancren Riwle, ed. Morton, pp. 198-204; Religious Pieces, ed. Perry (E. E. T. S.), pp. 11, 12; the Ayenbite of Inwyt, ed. Morris, p. 16; Political, Religious, and Love Poems, ed. Furnivall, p. 215; Hymns to the Virgin and Christ, ed. Furnivall, p. 62; Myrc's Instructions for Parish Priests, p. 33; Dunbar's Dance of the Seven Deadly Sins; Spenser, F. Q. bk. i. c. 4; &c. See also Sins in Nares' Glossary.

The Seven Sins, in Chaucer's order, are:--

1. Superbia, Pride (p. 591); its 'remedy' is Humilitas, Humility.

2. Inuidia, Envy (p. 598); remedy, Caritas, Love.

3. Ira, Ire, Wrath (p. 601); remedy, Patientia, Patience.

4. Accidia, Sloth (p. 612); remedy, Fortitudo, Strength.

5. Auaricia, Avarice (p. 617); remedy, Misericordia, Pity.

6. Gula, Gluttony (p. 623); remedy, Abstinentia, Abstinence.

7. Luxuria, Lechery (p. 625); remedy, Castitas, Chastity.

springers, origins, sources. I adopted this reading from Hl., because none of the other MSS. make sense. They have spryngen of or springen of (Hn. sprynge of), which can only mean 'arise from,' thus exactly contradicting the sense intended. Thynne has springe of; but Wright, Morris, and Bell all have springers of, as they follow the Harl. MS. I know no other example of this rare word; and it is difficult to see why the commoner form springes would not have served the purpose. Tyrwhitt gets over the difficulty by transposing the words, as in the Selden MS., thus reading--'and of hem springen alle,' &c. But the other MSS. do not countenance this arrangement.

388. Pride is usually accounted as the chief of all sins, and the source of the rest; cf. Ecclus. x. 13; P. Plowman, C. vii. 3 (B. v. 63), and the note; Ayenbite of Inwyt, p. 16. [456]

There is a long passage in St. Gregory's Moralium lib. xxxi. c. 45 (ed. Migne, vol. 76. col. 621), to which I suppose that later writers were much indebted. It is explicitly referred to, for instance, by John of Salisbury, in his Policraticus, lib. viii. c. 1. I quote some passages from it further on, in suitable places. It begins thus:--

'Radix quippe cuncti mali Superbia est. Primae autem ejus soboles, septem nimirum principalia vitia, de hac virulenta radice proferuntur, scilicet inanis gloria, invidia, ira, tristitia, avaritia, ventris ingluvies, luxuria; ... sed habet contra nos haec singula exercitum suum.'

389. hise braunches, its branches. In the Ayenbite of Inwyt, p. 17, they are called boghes, boughs; and the 'twigs' are called little boghes.

DE SUPERBIA.

390. In Essays on Chaucer, p. 510, Dr. Eilers gives a detailed and careful comparison of the English with the French text from which it is partly derived. The result, through no fault of his, is more bewildering than useful; for the numerous alterations in the arrangement of the parts of the subject are altogether too tedious to explain. The reader will gain the best idea of the state of the case, if I here quote Dr. Eilers' summary of his comparison of the two texts, as to their treatment of 'Pride.' Similar numberless alterations of detail occur in the treatment of the other 'Sins.' (Fr. = French text).

'From the above [comparison] it will appear that a well-ordered scheme underlies the French text. Orguel is divided into 7 branches, and each of these again into a similar number of reinselez (branchettes). Let us examine the English text (Chaucer's) more closely. After first pointing out (substantially in agreement with Fr.) the impossibility of naming all the parts (twigges) into which Pride may be divided, 16 twigges are enumerated, but without that logical coherence apparent in Fr. Next follow short definitions of the twigs, in which, however, the 11th twig (Strif) is omitted from the list, and is added instead at the end, under janglinge, which had never been mentioned before. These 16 twigs correspond partly to the branches, partly to the reinselez of Fr., whilst some of them are not found in Fr. at all, or at least not under the same heading.

'The definitions correspond only in their general sense with Fr. [Here instances are given.]

'Throughout this part there is in Ch. much confusion of particulars. The definition of "swelling of herte" is incorrect. "Arrogaunce" and "Presumpcion," which in Fr. are identical, appear in Ch. as distinct conceptions. On the other hand, the definitions of some of the words resemble each other closely.... The next section, on "a privee spece of Pryde" (§ 25), has nothing corresponding to it in Fr.; &c.... In the section "whennes Pride sourdeth and springeth" (§ 29), Ch. is in tolerably exact accordance with Fr.... The correspondence in this [457] first Deadly Sin is confined to isolated expressions, points of arrangement common to both,' &c.

On account, then, of the complicated differences in the treatment of details, I do not think it advisable to give the full and exact results. I confine myself to passages in which the Fr. throws real light on the English text, and to the points of chief interest only.

I think it worth while to continue here the quotation from Gregory commenced in the note to l. 388 above:--'Nam de inani gloria inobedientia, jactantia, hypocrisis, contentiones, pertinaciae, discordiae, et novitatum praesumptiones oriuntur.' Here is the outline of the division of Pride into branches. He gives similar 'branches' of Inuidia, Ira, and the rest.

In the Ayenbite of Inwyt, p. 17, the first bough of Pride has three twigs, as in Fr.; in fact, it follows Fr. very closely, and gives a very good idea of its general contents and treatment.

In the Ancren Riwle, p. 199, 'the Lion of Pride' has 9 whelps, such as Vain Glory, Indignation, Hypocrisy, Presumption, &c.

392. Inobedient, disobedient. Cf. P. Plowman, C. vii. 19; Ayenb. (i. e. Ayenbite of Inwyt), p. 20, ll. 7. 8.

393. Avauntour, boaster; P. Pl. C. vii. 35; Ayenb. p. 22, ll. 5-15.

394. Ipocrite, hypocrite. Cf. P. Pl. C. vii. 36-40; Ayenb. p. 25 (Sixth Bough).

395. Despitous, scornful; cf. Ayenb. p. 20, ll. 4, 5. even-cristene, fellow-Christian; cf. Swed. jämn-christen, from jämn, even; Icel. jafnkristinn. Euene-cristene occurs in P. Plowm. B. ii. 94, v. 440; also spelt emcristene in the same, C. xx. 226, &c.

398. The definition does not well suit 'Swellinge of herte.' It better defines 'the envious man'; see Ayenb. p. 27, l. 15. And see P. 599, l. 492, below. At the same time, it is not so much out of place as the critics say it is, and is paralleled by the lines in P. Plowman, C. vii. 17, where Pride says that he was--

'nouht abaissed to agulte God and alle good men, so gret was myn herte.'

399. This is parallel to P. Plowm. C. vii. 41-58.

401. This corresponds to Ayenb. p. 29, l. 19. 'The zixte is, to werri zoþnesse be his wytinde.' Fr. 'guerroier verité a son escient.'

402. Contumax, contumacious; as in P. Plowm. C. xiv. 85.

403. Surquidrie, presumption; O.F. surquiderie. It occurs in the Ancren Riwle, p. 56 (note h); Gawain and the Grene Knight, l. 2457; Barbour's Bruce, xi. 11, xvi. 327; &c.

406. See E. 1200, and the note. Cf. Ayenb. p. 58, l. 13:--'that byeth ase the cleper of the melle, thet ne may him naght hyealde stille.' Fr. 'vaines paroles, qui sont come li batels du moulin.'

407. There is nothing in Fr. corresponding to this passage. waiteth, i. e. watches his opportunity of being first saluted, or of taking a higher seat at table. above him, before him, as in a procession. [458]

kisse pax, to kiss the pax. The pax was a small flat piece of wood or metal, quite distinct from the pyx, with which it is often confounded. See the full explanation in Nares. See also Bingham, Antiq. of the Christian Church; and Rock, Church of our Fathers.

goon to offring; see A. 450, and the note.

411. leefsel, a shady arbour, such as may still be seen before an ale-house-door, or a cottage-door, in some country villages. The word has already occurred in A. 4061, and has been explained in the note to that line. It is quite distinct from the ivy-bush which was so commonly suspended in place of, or in addition to, the sign which denoted an ale-house; see the chapter on Ale-house Signs in Brand's Pop. Antiquities. Perhaps we may assume that the descriptive epithet gaye is here of some force; the arbour in front of an inn-door would, usually, be either larger or more conspicuous than that in front of an ordinary cottage.

412. This 'outrageous array of clothing' answers to the 'plente des beles robes' in Fr.; cf. Ayenb. p. 24, last line but one.

413. Alluding to Luke xvi. 19. Really from S. Gregorii Homiliarum in Evangelia lib. ii. homil. xl. § 3: 'Quodsi uidelicet culpa non esset, nequaquam sermo Dei tam uigilanter exprimeret quod diues ... bysso et purpura indutus fuisset.' See Migne's ed. vol. 76. col. 1305.

414. From S. Gregorii Homiliarum in Evangelia lib. ii. homil. 40. § 3: 'Nemo quippe uestimenta praecipua nisi ad inanem gloriam quaerit, uidelicet, ut honorabilior caeteris esse uideatur.' Cf. lib. i. homil. vi. § 3 (on the text, Matt. xi. 2-10), where St. Gregory inveighs against such as--'solis exterioribus dediti, praesentis uitae mollitiem et delectationem quaerunt ... Nemo ergo existimet in fluxu atque studio uestium peccatum deesse;' (ed. Migne, vol. 76. col. 1097). He proceeds to refer to 1 Pet. iii. 5, 1 Tim. ii. 9.

415. costlewe, costly. 'Costelewe, costfull, costuous, Sumptuosus'; Prompt. Parv.; see Way's note. This form answers to the Icel. kostligr; and the only difference between the suffixes -lewe and -ly is that the former is Norse, and represents Icel. -ligr, whilst the latter represents the A. S. -lic. See Chokelew in the New Eng. Dict., and cf. drunken-lewe, drunken-like, sik-lewe, sickly.

416. Wyclif (Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 124) is similarly severe against proud array.

417. degyse, fashionable; O. F. desguisè, also spelt desguisiè (Godefroy). Chaucer found this word in Le Roman de la Rose, l. 827; see vol. i. p. 128.

endentinge, notching, or the use of indented lines. Indentee (better endentee) is still a term in heraldry, to signify that an edge or dividing line is notched or serrated, as shewn in any heraldic work. Several of the terms in this clause have, in heraldry, a special sense, and Chaucer seems to be thinking, in particular, of such coats-of-arms as were sometimes made of variously coloured cloths, cut into the requisite shapes. [459]

barringe, cutting into stripes, or decoration with bars. A bar, in heraldry, is a horizontal stripe like the fess, but narrower.

oundinge, waving; decoration by the use of waved lines. Oundee or oundy (also onde, ondy) is the heraldic name for a waved line or edge. Criseyde's hair was ounded, i. e. waved; Troilus, iv. 736.

palinge, decoration with a 'pale' or upright stripe. A pale, in heraldry, is a broad upright stripe, occupying the third part of the field. Cf. note to HF. 1840 (vol. iii. p. 282).

windinge, twisting; decoration with curved lines. Many heraldic charges, such as a lion, had to be cut out in the cloth, by 'winding' the scissors about, along the outline required.

bendinge, decoration with bends. A bend, in heraldry, is a slanting stripe or band. The bend dexter is drawn from the dexter chief to the sinister base of the shield; the bend sinister (once a mark of bastardy) slopes the other way.

418. pounsoninge, punching, perforation. Strictly, the use of a puncheon or perforating implement. 'Punchon, stimulus, punctorium'; Prompt. Parv.

chisels, i. e. cutting instruments; we may note that, etymologically, chisels and scissors (M. E. cisoures) are closely related words.

dagginge, slitting, snipping, cutting into strips or narrow flapping ends. There is a special allusion to the custom of dagging, i. e. jagging, or foliating the edges of robes (especially of the sleeves), so common in the reigns of Edw. III. and Rich. II. See fig. 91 in Fairholt's Costume in England (1885), i. 124. See P. Plowman, C. xxiii. 143; Rich. the Redeless, iii. 193.

419. The length of the trains of gowns is a common subject of satire. See, in particular, Sir David Lyndesay's Minor Poems (E. E. T. S.), pp. 574-5.

421. bete, remedy, amend, better, relieve; cf. A. 2253.

422. cutted, cut short; see Leg. G. Women, 973, and note.

sloppes, garments; here, evidently, jackets of a short length. 'Sloppe, garment, Mutatorium'; Prompt. Parv.; Icel. sloppr, a robe, gown. There is a parallel passage in the Knight of La Tour-Landry, cap. xlvii (p. 63). Cf. oversloppe, G. 633.

hainselins (also spelt hanselins, anslets), the same as sloppes, i. e. jackets. Tyrwhitt unluckily says that 'it appears from the context to mean a sort of breeches,' whereas it was the shortness of the hainselin that enabled the breeches to be seen; and his error has been copied by others. This most unusual word answers to the rare O. F. hamselin, hamcellim, or hainselin, a sort of robe. Godefroy says--'sorte de robe longue'; whereas it was certainly 'courte.' His examples include the mention of 'un hainselin de vert brun' in 1416, 'hamselin' in 1403, and an extract from Christine de Pisan:--

'N'orent pas gonele a pointes, Mais hamcellins a grans manches Estroit serrez sus les hanches.'

[460] I suppose the last line means 'tightly gathered in above the hips.' Cotgrave has: 'sus, above.' The word is probably of Frankish origin; from O. H. G. *hemithil[=i]n, M. H. G. hemdel[=i]n, dimin. of O. H. G. hemithi, a shirt (G. Hema). See Fig. 93 and Fig. 136 in Fairholt's Costume, i. 126, 180.

425. degysinge, mode of dress. This alludes to the singular habit of wearing parti-coloured dresses; see the remarks in Fairholt's Costume, i. 114, 115.

427. fyr of seint Anthony, St. Anthony's fire; a popular name for erysipelas, which this saint was supposed to cure.

429. honestetee, decency; as in B. 3908. In 431, it seems to mean 'neatness'; and so in 436.

432. aornement, the O. F. form of 'adornment'; see Adornment in the New E. Dict., in which the oldest quotation for this form is from Caxton. The expression 'in thinges that apertenen to rydinge' answers to 'his uaire ridinges' in Ayenb. p. 24, l. 3 from bottom; Fr. 'beles chevauchures.'

434. From Zech. x. 5.

435. This curiously expresses the view taken by the lower orders in England, who regarded the riders, mostly Normans, as belonging to the class of their oppressors. Hence the curious song against the Retinues of the Rich, in Wright's Political Songs, pp. 237-240.

437. greet meinee, a large household; 'the uayre mayné,' Ayenb. p. 24, l. 31; Fr. 'bele maisnie.'

440. As 'thilke that holden hostelries,' i. e. innkeepers, are here represented as upholding the cheating ways of the 'hostilers,' the latter must here be used (like mod. E. ostler) in the sense of the servants attached to the inn. In A. 241, hostiler may mean the innkeeper himself; but ostler goes well with tappestere, i. e. barmaid.

442. From Ps. lv. 15.

445. wilde fyr, fire caused by kindling some inflammable spirit, just as our modern 'Christmas pudding' or 'mince pie' is surrounded with the flames of burning brandy. It seems to have been called 'wild fire' as being not easily extinguishable, like the 'Greek fire' of the middle ages; see Ancren Riwle, p. 402, and Warton's note, Hist. Eng. Poetry, ed. 1871, ii. 154. In A. 4172, and E. 2252, it is used, metaphorically, to denote 'erysipelas.'

446. vessel, a collective noun, like mod. E. 'plate.' As to minstrelsy at feasts, see E. 1178, F. 268, &c.

448. sourden of, arise from, have their source in; F. sourdre.

450-5. Here the E. text is tolerably close to the Fr. original; cf. Ayenb. p. 24. The 'goodes' are Li bien de nature, being such as are (1) devers le cors, viz. sainteté (good health), biauté, force, proesce, noblesce, bone langue, bone voiz; and (2) devers l'ame, viz. cler sens, soutil engin, bone memoire, les vertuz natureles. Again, there are Li bien de fortune, viz. hautesces, honors, richesces, delices, prosperitez. Lastly, there are Li bien de grace, viz. vertuz, bones oevres. [461]

459. Alluding to Gal. v. 17; see Wyclif's version.

460. causeth ... meschaunce, often brings many a man into peril and misfortune. The idiom is curious; but all the MSS. agree here, and Thynne's edition has the same. Tyrwhitt has 'causeth ful oft to many man peril,' &c. This is easier, but lacks authority.

467. Chaucer found this quotation from Seneca in the Latin treatise which is the original of 'Melibeus' (p. 124 of Sundby's edition), though the passage does not occur in his version of that tale. It is made up of two clauses, taken, respectively, from Seneca, De Clementia, i. 3. 3, and the same, i. 19. 2. 'Nullum clementia magis decet quam regem'; et iterum, 'Iracundissimae et parui corporis sunt apes, rex tamen earum sine aculeo est.' Cf. Pliny, Nat. History, bk. xi. c. 17; Batman upon Bartholomè, bk. xviii. c. 12; Hoccleve, de Regimine Principum, p. 121; Brunetto Latini, Li Livres dou Tresor, i. v. 155.

At the same time, it is remarkable that Chaucer's words resemble even more closely a passage from Cicero which is quoted on the preceding page of the same book:--'Nam Tullius dixit: Nihil est laudabilius, nihil magno et praeclaro viro dignius placabilitate atque clementia'; De Officiis, i. 25.

470. Here there is a slight change in the order; the 'goods of grace' are discussed before those of 'fortune'; see 454, 455.

473. Cf. the Clerkes Tale, E. 1000.

475. In the Fr. treatise, all the Sins come first, and then the Remedies are discussed afterwards. The alteration in this respect is an improvement.

476. mekenesse; called 'Mildenesse' in Ayenb. p. 130, and 'umilite' in Fr. The resemblance of this § 29 to the Fr. text is very slight.

483. to stonde gladly to, willingly to abide by.

DE INUIDIA.

484. See Ayenb. 26; Myrc's Instructions to Parish Priests, p. 37; P. Plowm. C. vii. 63 (B. v. 76); Ancren Riwle, p. 200; Wyclif's Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 128. In form and general contents, this chapter on Envy is a condensation of the corresponding chapter in the Fr. text, but there are several deviations.

philosophre; I do not know who is meant. However, St. Gregory (see the note to 388) says: 'De inuidia, odium, susurratio, detractio, exsultatio in aduersis proximi, afflictio autem in prosperis nascitur.'

Augustin. The quotation seems rather to follow the words of St. Gregory just quoted. I find, in St. Augustine, only one of the clauses, viz. 'Inuidia est enim odium felicitatis alienae'; S. Aug. in Psalm. civ. 25 (cv. 25 in the Vulgate); ed. Migne, vol. 37, col. 1399. This is the very quotation which has already done duty in the Phisicien's Tale; see C. 115, and the note. Cf. P. Plowm. B. v. 112, 113.

485. platly, &c.; Fr. 'il est contraires an saint esperit.' Cf. Ayenb. p. 28, l. 7 from bottom. [462]

486. two; Dr. Eilers remarks--'Clearly three follow.' But we can easily count them as two; (1) hardness of heart; (2) warring against truth, or against grace given to one's neighbour.

487. Fr. 'guerroier verité a son escient'; and again, 'guerroier la grace du saint esperit en autrui.' See Ayenb. p. 29, ll. 2, 3, 18, 19.

490. Compare P. Pl. C. vii. 93.

491-492. See 484 above, and the note.

493. bakbyting; cf. Ancren Riwle, p. 86; P. Plowm. B. v. 89. Fr. text, 'detraction.'

493-494. Fr. 'quant on dist bien d'autrui devant lui, toz jors il i trueve e i met un mes'; where mes is the mod. F. mais, Chaucer's 'but.'

495. Fr. 'il pervertist e torne tout a la pior partie.'

496. Fr. 'il estaint e met a nient touz les biens que li hons fait.'

499. Fr. 'grondiller e murmurer.'

500. Fr. 's'il [Dieu] li envoie adversitez, povretez, chier tens, pluie, seccheresce, s'il done a l'un et toult a l'autre.' Cf. P. Pl. B. vi. 317.

502. See John xii. 4. enoynte, anointed, is the past tense; the pp. is enoynt, A. 2961; cf. anoint, A. 199.

504. See Luke vii. 39.

505. bereth him, &c., lays to his charge. Cf. D. 226, 380.

508. Compare the Fr. text:--'murmure contre Dieu et chante la pater-nostre au singe, certes mais la chancon au diable.'

515. This section, on the Remedy against Envy, is very much abridged from the Fr. original, and the points of contact are few. Cf. Ayenb. p. 144; Myrc, p. 52.

526. From Matt. v. 44.

DE IRA.

532. 'The first part of this chapter is, in arrangement as in substance, a condensation of the corresponding chapter in Fr. The working out of the subject is interwoven with ideas, which are nowhere to be found in Fr. ... the verbal coincidences are very numerous.'--Essays on Chaucer, p. 533. See Ayenb. p. 29; Myrc, p. 38; Wyclif, Works, iii. 134.

535. 'Nam et ipsam iram nihil aliud esse, quam ulciscendi libidinem, veteres definierunt'; S. August. De Civitate Dei, lib. xiv. c. 15. § 2. Cf. Cicero, Tuscul. Disput. lib. iii. c. 5; lib. iv. c. 9.

536. Cf. Horace, Epist. I. 2. 62:--'Ira furor breuis est.'

537. trouble, i. e. troubled, agitated; F. trouble, adj. Cf. H. 279.

540. From Ps. iv. 5 (Vulgate).

551. 'Juniperus, ... Graece dicta, ... quod conceptum diu teneat ignem: adeo ut si prunae ex eius cinere fuerint opertae, usque ad annum perueniant; [Greek: pur] enim apud Graecos ignis dicitur'; S. Isidorus, Etymologiarum lib. xvii. c. 7; ed. Migne, vol. 82, col. 615. This is one of Isidore's delicious 'etymologies.' This remarkable story is founded on the imaginary fact that juniper is derived from the Gk. [Greek: pur], fire! [463]

562. hate, &c. This expression is from St. Augustine:--'Quid est odium? ira inueterata. Ira inuerata si facta est, iam odium dicitur'; Sermo lviii. c. 7; ed. Migne, vol. 38, col. 397.

565. six thinges; evidently an error for three. The three are: (1) hate; (2) backbiting; (3) deceitful counsel. The error may easily have arisen from misreading iij as uj. Most of the MSS. have '.vj.'; but '.ui.' and '.uj.' were also in use. See 1 John iii. 15.

566. Probably due to an imperfect remembrance of Prov. xxv. 18:--'Iaculum, et gladius, et sagitta acuta, homo qui loquitur contra proximum suum falsum testimonium.' Cf. xii. 18, xxx. 14.

568. From Prov. xxviii. 15; cf. iii. 27.

shepe, hire, is a rare word; hence the addition, either by Chaucer or by a scribe, of the words or the hyre, by way of a gloss. The writer of the Ayenbite writes ss for sh; and we there find the word ssepe, in the sense of 'hire' or 'pay,' no less than five times; at pp. 33, 40, 86, 113, 146, also the pl. ssepes, wages, at p. 39. Cf. A. S. scipe, pay, in Ælfric's Lives of Saints, ed. Skeat, xxxi. 55 (vol. ii. p. 222). See note to Anelida, 193.

569. From Prov. xxv. 21.

572. in his defendaunt, in his (own) defence; it looks like an imitation of the French phrase en se defendant.

575. Note the double use of homicide; it here translates homicidium; just above, it translates homicida.

580. Fr. 'Mais especiaument nous apelons ci blaspheme, quant on mesdit de Dieu e de ses sainz, on des sacramenz de sainte eglise.'

582. From Ps. cxlv. 9.

587. The French treatise includes seven forms of swearing (parjuremens) under the head of Ire.

588. See Exod. xx. 7; Matt. v. 34. Cf. C. 642.

591. Fr. 'Il resont plus cruel que li Iuys qui le crucifierent. Il ne briserent nul des os, mais cist le depiecent plus menu c'on ne fait pourcel en la boucherie.' Cf. Pard. Tale, C. 475, 651, and the notes.

592. See the parallel passage in the Pard. Tale, C. 635, and the note. From Jer. iv. 2; on which St. Jerome remarks: 'Animaduertendum est quod iusiurandum tres habet comites.'

593. See Pard. Tale, C. 649, and the note. The wounde is a translation of the Lat. plaga in Ecclus. xxiii. 12 (Vulgate):--'non discedet a domo illius plaga.'

597. From Acts iv. 12.

598. From Phil. ii. 10.

601. This section (§ 37) is rather closer than usual to the French text, but is amplified.

603. Fr. 'comme font les devines et les sorcieres et les charmeresses. Et touz ceus qui en tiex choses croient ... pecchent morteument; car toutes teles choses sont contre la foi, et por ce les deffent sainte eglise.'

bacins ful of water. These were sometimes used, instead of [464] looking-glasses, for divination; Brand, Pop. Antiq. ed. Ellis, iii. 169. This kind of divination was called catoptromancy.

bright swerd, used, instead of a magic mirror, in catoptromancy; see Brand.

in a cercle. Circles were almost invariably drawn upon the ground by sorcerers, within which the invoked spirit was supposed to be confined; see Brand, iii. 56, 59.

in a fyr, as in pyromancy. 'Amphiaraus was the first that had knowledge in Pyromancie, and gathered signs by speculation of fire'; Holland, tr. of Pliny, bk. vii. c. 56. Cf. P. Plowman, A. xi. 158.

'Magic may be practised after diuers sorts; ... for it worketh by the means of (1) Water, hydromantia; (2) Globes or Balls, sphaeromantia; (3) Aire, aeromantia; (4) Starres, astrologia; (5) Fire-lights, pyromantia; (6) Basons, lecanomantia; and (7) Axes, axinomantia'; Holland, tr. of Pliny, bk. xxx. c. 2.

shulder-boon. See Pard. Tale, C. 351, and the note. Brand, in his Pop. Antiq., has a chapter on Divination by the Speal [rather Spaule], or Blade-bone. In Miss Burne's Shropshire Folk-Lore, p. 179, we are referred to Tylor, Prim. Culture, i. 124; Folk-Lore Record, i. 176; Henderson, Folk-Lore, p. 175.

605. divynailes, divinations. 'Devinailles, f. Divinations, predictions'; Cotgrave.

flight of briddes. This form of divination, so well known to the Romans, is still kept in remembrance by the use of the words augury and auspice. Divinations by beasts were common and various; the commonest method was by inspecting the entrails of a beast when sacrificed. See Brand's chapter on Omens, as e.g. by the howling of dogs, by cats, birds, animals crossing one's path, &c.

sort, lot; as by the Virgilian lots, Bible lots, &c.; see Brand, Pop. Antiq. iii. 336; Sir T. Browne, Vulgar Errors, bk. v. c. 24, § 7; Gay, Shepherd's Week, Pastoral 4.

geomancie, divination by dots made with a pointed stick in dust, &c. See the note on A. 2043, above. Divination by dreams needs no remark.

chirkinge, creaking. Strange noises have often caused superstitious terrors; a familiar instance is that of the death-watch. They are also sometimes regarded, with less evil effect, and perhaps, occasionally, with some truth, as weather-omens.

See Gay's Trivia, bk. i. l. 157; and the well-known Signs of Rain, by Dr. Jennings.

gnawynge of rattes. See Brand, Popular Antiq. iii. 188.

607. Charmes. See examples in Brand, Pop. Antiquities, of Rural Charms, Characts, and Amulets. It is curious to note Chaucer's qualified belief in them.

609. Cf. Fr. 'unes menconges aidans, ... unes nuisans, ... por faire domage a autrui.'

611. Som lesinge, &c.; 'some (kind of) lying arises, because a man [465] wants to sustain (the credit of) his word.' Dr. Eilers marks he with the note--'grammatical error.' But it is quite right; he is used indefinitely, as frequently. It is just a little too bad to charge this as an error on the author.

612. The mention of flattery seems out of place. But, as Dr. Eilers says, we may well suppose that 'the English author, once having had recourse to the "pecchiez de male langue," exhausted its whole contents, perhaps intentionally, perhaps unintentionally, but certainly with no regard to the subject of anger.' If we turn to the Ayenbite, p. 57, we shall find that the sins of the tongue, including flattery, are there given at the end of the section on Gluttony, where their appearance is even more surprising. The fact is, that the grouping of all sins under the Seven Deadly Sins is extremely artificial, and there is no particular place for the insertion of flattery or of certain other sins. Moreover, in 618 below, Chaucer naively gives his reason for the arrangement which he has adopted.

613. Fr. 'Li losengier sont les norrices au diable, qui ses enfans alaitent et endorment en leur pecchies ... par lor biau chanter.' The same expression occurs in the Ayenbite of Inwyt, p. 60, l. 7.

614. Salomon. Chaucer gives the general sense of Prov. xxviii. 23.

615. Fr. 'les apele l'escripture enchanteors, car il enchantent tant l'ome que il les croit plus que soi meismes.' The Ayenbite has 'charmeres'; p. 60, l. 25.

616. Following Tyrwhitt, I have supplied the words between square brackets, which are wanting in all the seven MSS. and in Thynne's edition. Tyrwhitt supplies 'god; and thise flatereres betrayen.' But he does not tell us where (if anywhere) he found these words.

617. The Fr. text has the very expression 'quant il chantent touz jors Placebo.' The Ayenbite adds an explanation (p. 60, l. 7 from bottom): viz. they all sing Placebo, that is to say, 'my lord saith truth,' or 'my lord doth well'; and turn to good all that the master doth or saith, whether it be good or bad. See my note to P. Plowman, C. iv. 467.

Note the name Placebo in the Marchauntes Tale; see E. 1476.

619. Fr. 'Apres vienent les maudicons.... E saint Pol dist que tieus genz ne poent le regne Dieu avoir.' This refers to 1 Cor. vi. 10, where the Vulgate has: 'neque maledici (A. V. 'revilers') ... regnum Dei possidebunt.' So in Ayenb. p. 66, l. 22.

620. Not in the Fr. text. This is an old proverb, which Southey quotes, in a Greek form, as a motto prefixed to his Curse of Kehama. His English version of it is:--'curses are like young chickens, they always come home to roost.'

623. gospel. See Matt. v. 22, 44.

624. Fr. 'on reproche à l'ome ou ses pecchiez, ou ses folies, ou sa povrete, ou ses povres parenz, ou aucune defaute qu'il a en lui.' Cf. Ayenb. p. 66, l. 27.

mesel, leper; so meselrie, leprosy, in 625.

625. maheym, maim, i. e. mutilation or bodily imperfection. Our [466] maim is a contracted form of this M. E. maheym. In P. Plowman, B. xvii. 189, one MS. has y-mayheymed, where others have y-maymed. In Britton, i. 98, the Anglo-French form is maheyng; in the Liber Albus, p. 281, it is mahaym.

627. From Matt. xii. 34.

629. From Prov. xv. 4.

deslavee, lit. 'unwashed,' foul; from O. F. 'deslaver, v. a. salir, souiller; fig., souiller, ternir la reputation de quelqu'un'; Godefroy. The pp. deslave properly means: 'non lavé, crasseux, sale.' Chaucer seems to confuse this with the transitive sense of the active verb; and he evidently had in mind the above verse from the Proverbs, where the Vulgate has 'Lingua placabilis, lignum uitae; quae autem immoderata est, conteret spiritum.' Hence deslavee here means 'unbridled.'

630. From 2 Tim. ii. 24.

631. From Prov. xxvii. 15; the Vulgate has 'Tecta perstillantia.' Cf. Prov. xix. 13; and note to D. 278.

633. From Prov. xvii. 1. Below, see Col. iii. 18.

636. See Ayenb., p. 187. The toad was considered poisonous, and wine was an antidote. Hence the antipathy.

639. See 2 Sam. xvii. 1.

640. fals livinge, false liver, evil liver.

642-3. This passage resembles the Fr. text.

649. From Ecclesiastes, v. 3.

651. deffendeth, forbids; see Eph. v. 4.

654. The word Mansuetude is borrowed from the Fr. text.

657. Jerome seems to be quoting 1 Cor. xiii. 4, 5.

660. Compare Boethius, bk. ii. pr. 7. ll. 91, 92 (vol. ii. p. 48).

661. Mat. v. 9. Cf. Frank. Tale, F. 773, and the note. The 'wise man' is Dionysius Cato, who says:--'Quem superare potes, interdum uince ferendo,' sometimes altered to 'superare nequis, patienter,' &c.; Distich. i. 38.

664. From Prov. xxix. 9.

670. This example somewhat resembles a story in Seneca, De Ira, lib. i. c. 15:--'Socrates seruo ait: Caederem te, nisi irascerer'; &c.

DE ACCIDIA.

677. The description of Sloth answers to the description in the Fr. text chiefly as regards the general outline. The particular points of contact are few. Cf. Ayenb. of Inwyt, pp. 31-34.

678. This remark, from Augustine, properly applies to the sin of Envy; see note to 484 above; p. 461.

679. Salomon; with reference to Eccl. ix. 10.

680. See Jer. xlviii. 10; for 'necligently,' the Vulg. has 'fraudulenter'; A. V. 'deceitfully.'

687. Referring, probably, to Rev. iii. 16.

688. Cf. Prov. xx. 4; xxi. 25. [467]

693. wanhope, despair; as in the parallel passage in the Ayenb. p. 34, l. 12. Cf. P. Plowman, C. viii. 59, 81, and note.

694. 'Quidam enim in peccata prolapsi desperatione plus pereunt'; S. Aug. De Natura et Gratia, cap. 35; ed. Migne, xliv. 266. A similar passage occurs in his Sermo xx. § 3; ed. Migne, xxxviii. 140.

698. The words recreant and creant are, curiously enough, used in almost exactly the same sense; perhaps creant was merely an abbreviated form. To 'say creant' and to 'yield oneself recreant' meant, 'to own oneself beaten'; the original sense being, apparently, 'to entrust oneself to the enemy' or confide in him, in the hope of obtaining mercy; see the explanation of se recredere in Ducange, and recreant and recroire in Godefroy. The E. phrase is well illustrated by P. Plowman, B. xii. 193, xviii. 100; see creant in the New E. Dict.

700-703. Alluding to Luke xv. 7; xv. 24; xxiii. 42, 43.

705. From Matt. vii. 7, John xvi. 24; compare Wyclif's version.

707. by the morwe, early in the morning; cf. D. 755, H. 16; and D. 1080.

709. From Prov. viii. 17.

712. From the Vulgate, Eccl. vii. 19 (18):--'qui timet Deum, nihil negligit.'

714. Cf. G. 3, and note; also Ayenb. p. 31, ll. 20-22.

715. thurrok, the sink in which all evil things collect; see note to 363, above, p. 454.

716. Cf. Matt. xi. 12. The reference to 'David' is to Ps. lxxiii. 5 (lxxii. 5 in the Vulgate):--'In labore hominum non sunt, et cum hominibus non flagellabuntur.' See the comment on this verse in Hampole's Psalter, ed. Bramley; which concludes with:--'for with men whaym God drawes to heven thai sal nought be swongen, but with fendes in hell.'

718. latrede, tardy (very rare); A. S. læt-r[=æ]de, slow of counsel, deliberate (see Toller).

dich, ditch. In the Fr. text, the image is that of a prisoner, who, when the door is open, is too lazy to mount the steps; so in Ayenb. p. 32, l. 2. Cf. P. Plowman, C. xiv. 236, 237.

719. Cf. Ayenb. p. 32, l. 21:--'thou sselt libbe long'; also P. Pl. C. xii. 180; Prov. of Hendyng, l. 304.

723. This is something like the Fr. text; see Ayenb. p. 33, l. 14. But the Fr. text does not quote St. Bernard. The passage in St. Bernard seems to be one in his Vitis Mystica, cap. xix. § 66; ed. Migne, vol. clxxxiv. coll. 674, 675: 'Aliquando affligitur hoc uitio anima bonorum,... ut nec orare, nec legere, nec meditari, nec opus manuum libeat exercere.'

725. tristicia. The Fr. text has tristesce, translated by 'zor[gh]e' in the Ayenbite, p. 34, l. 8; see 2 Cor. vii. 10.

728. Fr. text--'La vertu de proesce'; Ayenb.--'uirtue' and 'prouesse,' p. 163, l. 22. Fortitude is one of the four cardinal virtues; P. Plowman, C. xxii. 289. [468]

731. The 'speces,' or kinds, are here five, viz. magnanimity, faith, surety, magnificence, and constancy. These are taken from the Fr. text, which gives six kinds, viz. magnanimite, fiance, seurte, pacience, magnificence, constaunce. Patience is omitted, as having occurred above; see 659.

DE AUARICIA.

739. In this section we again find several hints taken from the Fr. text, especially in the arrangement of the subdivisions; cf. Ayenb. pp. 34-45. The text of St. Paul is quoted in the original, and in the Ayenb. p. 34; see note to C. 334, and cf. 1 Tim. vi. 10.

741. 'Amor mundi, amor huius saeculi, cupiditas dicitur'; S. Augustini enarratio in Psalmum xxxi, part ii. § 5; ed. Migne, vol. 36, col. 260.

748. 'Auarus, quod est idolorum seruitus'; Eph. v. 5.

749. mawmet, idol. It was unjustly supposed that Mahometans worshipped the prophet; whence Mahomet, corrupted to mawmet, came to mean an idol in general. See Marco Polo, ed. Yule, i. 174, for illustrations.

751. 'Non habebis deos alienos coram me. Non facies tibi sculptile'; Exod. xx. 3, 4. The addition of the second clause, taken from the second commandment, is remarkable. It was quite common to omit the second commandment altogether; cf. note to C. 641. Cf. Ayenb. pp. 5, 6.

752. tailages, &c. The Fr. text has:--'par tallies, par corvees, par emprunz, par mauvaises coustumes,' &c.; cf. 'be tailes, be coruees, be lones, be kueade wones'; Ayenb. p. 38. Cowel explains tallage as 'a tribute, toll, or tax.' It was, in fact, an exaction for which a tally, or acknowledgement (upon a notched stick) was given; see note to P. Plowman, B. iv. 57; and cf. Chaucer's Prologue, 570; P. Plowman, C. xxii. 37.

Dr. Murray explains cariage in this passage as meaning 'an obsolete service of carrying, or a payment in lieu of the same, due by a tenant to his landlord or feudal superior, or imposed by authority.'

amerciments, arbitrary fines inflicted 'at the mercy' of an affeeror. If the affeeror had no mercy, they became, as is here said, mere extortions.

754. The reference is given to Augustine's De Civitate Dei, lib. ix.; but is wrong. It should be to lib. xix. c. 15:--'Prima ergo seruitutis caussa peccatum est.'

755. See Gen. ix. 18-27. The reference to Gen. v. is a mistake, perhaps due to the fact that Ham is first mentioned in that chapter, at the end of it. See 766 below.

759. This is from Seneca, Epist. 47, which begins:--'Libenter ex his, qui a te ueniunt, cognoui, familiariter te cum seruis tuis uiuere; hoc prudentiam tuam, hoc eruditionem decet. Serui sunt? immo homines. Serui sunt? immo contubernales.' [469]

760. contubernial with, dwelling together with, intimate with. Chaucer found the word in Seneca; see the last note.

761-3. The general sense of this passage is from Seneca, Epist. 47 (note to 759). Thus the words 'that they rather love thee than drede' answer to 'Colant [serui] potius te, quam timeant.'

766. See Gen. ix. 26, and note to 755.

767-8. Cf. Ayenb. p. 39, ll. 6-9; P. Pl. B. vi. 28. The Fr. Text has:--'ces gran prelaz qui acrochent ... par trop grans procuracions ... ce sont li lou qui manguent les berbiz.' It does not mention St. Austin.

783. So in Fr. text; see Ayenb. p. 41, near the bottom. See also the parallel passage in Wyclif's Works, ed. Matthew, p. 64.

788. Damasie; Damasus I., pope from 336 to 384. His day is December 11. St. Jerome (Epist. 61, c. 3) tells us that a Roman senator, envious of the pomp sometimes observed in church ceremonies, said to pope Damasus, 'Make me bishop of Rome, and I will be a Christian tomorrow.' (Alban Butler.)

793. See Pard. Tale, C. 590; Ayenb. p. 45, l. 13.

797. Cf. 'ualse notaryes'; Ayenb. p. 40, l. 8; and see 'Susannah' in the Apocrypha, as told in Dan. xiii., in the Vulgate version.

799. Corporel, bodily theft; see Ayenb. p. 37, l. 3.

801. Sacrilege; see Ayenb. p. 40, l. 26. chirche-hawes, church-yards; Fr. 'mostiers, ou sainz leus, cymetieres'; Ayenb. (p. 41)--'cherches, other holi stedes, cherchtounes.'

802. See Ayenb. p. 41, ll. 7-20. The concluding portion of this section resembles the Fr. text more closely than usual.

Dr. Eilers proposes to insert the words rentes and before rightes, because the Fr. text has 'les rentes ... e les autres droitures'; and it is remarkable that Tyrwhitt also inserts these words. But they neither appear in any of the seven MSS., nor in Thynne's edition.

804. misericorde answers to 'merci' in Ayenb. p. 185, l. 26.

811. largesse, bounty; so also in Ayenb. p. 188, l. 4.

813. fool-largesse, foolish prodigality, such as is satirised in P. Plowm. C. viii. 82-101.

DE GULA.

818. This section has very little in common with the Fr. Text; cf. Ayenb. p. 50. It is also much shorter than the original.

819-20. Adam; mentioned also in Fr. text; see Ayenb. p. 50, l. 8 from bottom. See Pard. Tale, C. 505, and the note; also C. 529, and the note. From Phil. iii. 18, 19.

822. See Pard. Tale, C. 549, 558.

828. The mention of St. Gregory is copied from the Fr. text; see Ayenb. p. 51, l. 18. The passage meant is the following: 'Sciendum praeterea est quia quinque nos modis gulae uitium tentat. Aliquando namque indigentiae tempora praeuenit; aliquando uero tempus non praeuenit, sed cibos lautiores quaerit; aliquando quaelibet qua [470] sumenda sint praeparari accuratius expetit; aliquando autem et qualitati ciborum et tempori congruit, sed in ipsa quantitate sumendi mensuram moderatae refectionis excedit.'--S. Gregorii Moralium Lib. xxx. cap. xviii. § 60; ed. Migne, vol. 76, col. 556.

829. curiositee; Fr. 'curieusete'; Ayenb. 'bysihede,' p. 55, l. 8 from bottom.

831. The remedy against Gluttony, in the Fr. text, is 'La vertu de Sobrete,' answering to 'the uirtue of Temperance' in the Ayenb. p. 245. The Fr. text treats this at great length; but Chaucer only says a few words. He mentions, however, 'Attemperaunce' and 'Mesure'; cf. Fr. 'atemprance' and 'mesure.'

DE LUXURIA.

836. This section contains a considerable amount of the matter found in the Fr. text, but the comparison between the texts is difficult, owing to the frequent changes in the arrangement of the material. Dr. Eilers says (p. 566):--'This chapter of the Eng. text, though twice as comprehensive as the French, contains more in quantity that corresponds with the Fr. than that diverges from it, and exceeds all the previous chapters in the degree of correspondence.' For details, see Dr. Eilers' essay, and cf. Ayenb. pp. 46-49.

After 'departe,' MS. Hl. supplies a reference to Eph. v. 18.

837-8. See Exod. xx. 14; Lev. xix. 20; Deut. xxii. 21; Lev. xxi. 9.

839. thonder-leyt, thunder-bolt, lit. thunder-flash; A. S. l[=i]get, l[=i]getu, a flash; cf. note to Boethius, bk. i. met. 4. 8. See Gen. xix. 24.

841. stank, pool; 'stagno' in the Vulgate (Rev. xxi. 8).

842-5. See Matt. xix. 5; Eph. v. 25; Exod. xx. 17; Matt. v. 28.

852. that other, the second. The former is mentioned above, in 830. The 'five fingers' are, in Fr., called fol regart, fous atouchemenz, foles paroles, fous baisiers, le fait; all 'si come dist saint Gregoire.' Cf. Ayenb. p. 46.

853. basilicok, basilisk; Fr. Text, 'basilicoc.' The fabulous basilisk, or cockatrice, which had a head like a cock and a body like a serpent, was supposed to slay men by its mere glance. In the Wars of Alexander, ed. Skeat, 4837-57, we read how Alexander induced a basilisk to commit suicide by gazing in a mirror. Cf. Ayenb. p. 28, l. 12.

854. See Prov. vi. 26-9; vii. 26; Ecclus. xii. 13, 14; xiii. 1; xxvi. 7.

858. roser, rose-bush; as in Havelok, 2919.

busshes, as in Tyrwhitt, must be the right reading; but I can find no authority for it. The MSS. all have beautees, i. e. beauties, or some equivalent form. Thynne (ed. 1550) has benches, which is also found in some MSS.; but it does not help us.

859. Compare this with the March. Tale, E. 1840; and see Ayenb. p. 48, l. 25.

861. 'Si egeris patienter, coniunx mutabitur in sororem'; Hieron. c. Iouinianum, lib. i. (ed. 1524, t. ii. p. 25). [471]

867. 'St. Paul gives them the kingdom due to sinners.' In fact, St. Paul denies them the kingdom due to saints; which comes to the same thing. See Gal. v. 19-21; and see 884 below. Cf. Rev. xxi. 8.

869. the hundred fruit, i. e. fruit brought forth a hundred-fold. Cf. 'dabant fructum, aliud centesimum,' &c.; Matt. xiii. 8. It was usual to liken virginity, widowhood, and matrimony, respectively, to the bringing forth of fruit a hundredfold, sixtyfold and thirtyfold; see P. Plowman, C. xix. 84-90, and note to l. 84; Hali Meidenhad, ed. Cockayne, p. 22; Ayenb. p. 234. 'Centesimus et sexagesimus et tricesimus fructus ... multum differt in numero. Triginta referuntur ad nuptias ... Sexaginta uero ad uiduas ... Porro centesimus numerus ... exprimit uirginitatis coronam'; Hieronymus contra Iouinianum, lib. i; ed. 1524, ii. 18. The Fr. text has: 'Ceus qui gardent virginite ont le centiesme fruit.' But Chaucer, being well acquainted with Jerome's treatise, recognised at once the Latin source; for in MS. Hl. we find the note, 'secundum Ieronimum contra Iouinianum.'

879. 'Him shall God destroy'; 1 Cor. iii. 17.

880. douted, feared. See Gen. xxxix. 8, 9.

884. 'Huanne me brecth the sacrement of spoushod, hit y-ualth otherhuyl desertesoun of eyr, and ualse mariages'; Ayenb. p. 48.

887. gladly, readily; hence, fittingly.

889. 'Iam amplius noli peccare'; John viii. 11.

895. as by the dignitee, i. e. on account of the dignity of their office; see note to 900.

'Satanas transfigurat se,' &c.; 2 Cor. xi. 14.

897-8. From 1 Sam. ii. 12 (in the Vulgate, Liber primus Regum). Belial signifies worthlessness; and hence, lawlessness, or evil. But in the Vulgate version of Judges, xix. 22, the word Belial is explained to mean 'absque iugo'; which in O. French would become 'sans ioug.' Chaucer seems to have met with this explanation, and perhaps misread it as 'sans iuge'; i. e. 'without Iuge.'

900. misterie, i. e. office, duty. As in 895 above, misterie is here short for ministerie, i. e. ministry, office, duty; in fact, the Selden and Lansdowne MSS. actually have the spelling mynysterie. MS. Cm., by a singular error, adds mynystre again, and has the reading: 'kunne not mynystre the mysterie.' Tyrwhitt has wrongly introduced the extra mynystre. Wright copied him; Bell copied Wright; and Morris copied Bell; so that these editions vary from the Harl. MS., which omits it! The question is easily settled. 'The Book' means the Bible; and the Vulgate version (1 Sam. ii. 12, 13) has 'nescientes ... officium sacerdotum ad populum.' Hence conne means 'know.'

904. 'Adulter est, inquit [Xystus, in sententiis] in suam uxorem amator ardentior,' &c.; S. Hieron. c. Iouinian. lib. i. (near the end)

906. There is no such passage in the E. version of the book of Tobit; but it occurs in the Vulgate, Tob. vi. 17; and see Ayenb. p. 223.

908. godsibbes, i. e. his godmother or his goddaughter. Already, in the Laws of Cnut (Eccles. § vii), we find that a man is forbidden to [472] marry his godmother; and this rule was formerly stringent. Cf. Ayenb. p. 48.

915. This section has much in common with the Fr. text. 'We meet,' says Dr. Eilers, 'with whole sentences in entire agreement.' See Ayenb. pp. 202-238.

916. two maneres, two ways; cf. the two 'states,' in Ayenb. p. 220.

918-19. Eph. v. 32; Gen. ii. 24; John ii. 1.

922. Eph. v. 25, again quoted in 929; 1 Cor. xi. 3.

927. desray, disorder, 'dissarray'; A. F. desrei, O. F. desroi; see derai in Stratmann.

930. MS. Hl. adds cap. iij. after Peter; hence the reference is to 1 Pet. iii. 1.

933. Perhaps the reference is to Rev. xvii. 4, xviii. 16.

934. Gregorie; see note to 414 above, p. 458.

939. three thinges, three reasons; so in Ayenb. p. 222, l. 14.

944. widewe; cf. Ayenb. p. 225, l. 9.

947. boyste, box; Mat. xxvi. 7; John xii. 3.

948. lyf, life; i. e. she lives like them; Fr. semblant as angels du ciel,' i. e. like the angels of heaven. Cf. P. Plowman, C. xix. 89-100; Ayenb. p. 227, l. 13.

951. See the parallel passage; Ayenb. p. 204, at the bottom.

954. leyt, flame; the candle being stuck close to the wall.

955. Daniel; so in E. Cm.; but the other five MSS. have Dauid, i. e. David. It appears that David is the correct reading, since the names of Sampson, David, and Solomon occur both in the Fr. text, and in Ayenb. p. 204.

956-7. Probably Chaucer omitted the ten commandments, because he was getting tired of the work. He mentions them because they are treated of at length in the French treatise; see Ayenb. pp. 5-11. Hence his 'leaving them to divines' is a mere excuse. Cf. Kn. Tale, A. 1323; and see note to 1043 below (p. 474).

We may also see, in this expression, a clear proof that this Treatise was originally made by Chaucer in his own person. On assigning this Tale to the Parson, he should have struck out this tell-tale clause; for surely the Parson was 'a divine.'

DE CONFESSIONE. Instead of this Title, most MSS., including E., have--'Sequitur secunda Pars Penitencie.' But this is unsuitable, as it has already appeared, viz. at p. 586. I have therefore taken, from MSS. Pt. and Christchurch, the alternative title--'De Confessione.' See p. 639.

958. This chapter, on Confession, answers to a similar chapter in the Fr. text, though the material has been re-arranged. See Ayenb. pp. 172-180; Ancren Riwle, pp. 299, 317. The reference to the 'firste chaptire' is to paragraph 107, on p. 572.

959. fyve wittes, five senses, also called 'the vif wittes of the bodie' in Ayenb. p. 177. And cf. P. Plowman, C. ii. 15, and the note.

960. that that, that which, what it is that. [473]

961. This corresponds to Ayenb. p. 175, l. 23, and lines following, to p. 176, l. 12; but the order varies.

971. eschew, reluctant; lit. 'shy.' See E. 1812, and the note. Tyrwhitt reads slow, which is ingenious, but wrong.

979. engreggen, aggravate; Fr. 'les circumstances qui poent engreger le pecche.' Godefroy, s. v. engregier, quotes this very passage, from two other MS. which read, respectively, 'qui pueent engregier le pechie,' and 'qui engrigent les pechies.'

981. namely by the two, especially by the (former) two; penitence and shrift. the thridde, the third; i. e. satisfaction, reparation.

982. foure, four; Fr. 'six.' See Ayenb. p. 172, l. 6.

983. Ezekias, Hezekiah; Fr. text, 'Ezechias'; all the MSS. have Ezekiel (wrongly); see Isaiah, xxxviii. 15. The Ayenb. has 'ezechie'; p. 172, l. 9 from bottom.

986-8. See Luke xviii. 13; 1 Pet. v. 6.

994, 996. See Matt. xxvi. 75; Luke vii. 37.

998. hastily, without delay; Ayenb. 'hasteliche,' p. 173, l. 10; Fr. 'hastivement.' And see Ayenb. p. 173, l. 25 for the rest of the sentence.

1005. countrewaite, watch against, be on his guard against; see Tale of Melibeus, B. 2508.

1006. parcel, part; departe, divide; see Ayenb. p. 175.

1008. Cf. Somn. Tale, D. 2095-8.

1013. nayte, deny; Icel. neita; Tyrwhitt has nay. So, in Boeth. bk. i. met. 1. l. 16, where the original has negat, MS. Addit. has naieth; but the Camb. MS. has nayteth.

1020. This passage from St. Augustine is alluded to in the Ancren Riwle, p. 337:--'Qui causa humilitatis mentitur fit quod prius ipse non fuit, id est, peccator.' See S. August. Sermo clxxxi. § 4 (ed. Migne, vol. 38, col. 981): 'Propter humilitatem dicis te peccatorem.... Testis ergo falsus es contra te.'

1025. Cf. Ayenb. p. 178, l. 13; Ancren Riwle, p. 323.

1027. ones a yere, viz. at Easter. In the Ancren Riwle, p. 413, fifteen times are mentioned. See P. Plowman, C. xxi. 472, xxii. 3, and the note to the latter passage. renovellen, are renewed; i. e. in spring-time.

DE SATISFACCIONE.

1030. In Religious Pieces, ed. Perry (E. E. T. S.), p. 9, the seven 'works of mercy' are (1) feeding the hungry; (2) giving drink to the thirsty; (3) clothing the naked; (4) sheltering the homeless; (5) visiting the sick; (6) visiting prisoners; (7) burying the dead poor.

1031. Cf. P. Plowman, C. ii. 20 (B. i. 20), and the note.

1034. Compare Ayenb. p. 192, l. 5.

1036. From Matt. v. 14-16. Chaucer's translation is smoother than Wyclif's. [474]

1040-2. Compare Ayenbite, p. 99.

1043. Here again Chaucer really speaks in his own person; cf. note to 957 above. The reason for his mentioning the 'exposition' of the prayer is, that a long exposition, which he wished to avoid, is given in the Fr. text (see Ayenb. pp. 99-118).

1045. Epitomised from the Fr. text; see Ayenb. p. 207.

1048. wakinge, watching; see Matt. xxvi. 41.

1049. Cf. Ayenb. p. 53, where iolyuete answers to ioliuete in the Fr. text, and to Iolitee in Chaucer.

1051. On eating, see P. Plowman, C. ix. 273 (B. vi. 263). in untyme, at a wrong season; see P. Plowm. B. ix. 186.

1052. Observe that, in 1038, Chaucer says that bodily pain stands in (1) prayers; (2) watching; (3) fasting; and (4) virtuous teachings. He speaks of prayers in 1039-1047; of watching in 1048-9; of fasting in 1050-1. He now takes up 'teaching,' by which he means, in the first place, bodily 'discipline'; and the words 'or techinge by word or by writinge or in ensample' are, practically, parenthetical. The word discipline is due to the Fr. text; cf. Ayenb. p. 250, l. 2: 'ase ine uestinges, ine wakiinges, ine dissiplines,' &c.

heyres, hair-shirts; see P. Plowman, C. vii. 6, and the note.

haubergeons, habergeons, shirts of mail. It is surprising to find, in the Romance of Tristan, ed. Michel, ii. 36, that the heroine (Yseult) is described as wearing a 'byrnie' or shirt of mail next her skin:--'Vest une brunie à sa char nue.' Michel quotes from Le Voyage de Charlemagne à Constantinople, I. 635:--'Il lur a cumaundet que aient vestu brunies.'

1054. Tyrwhitt puts a comma after herte, and none after God, and other editors follow him. But the text (Col. iii. 12) has: 'Induite uos ergo, sicut electi Dei, ... uiscera misericordiae, benignitatem, ... patientiam.' Hence 'in herte of misericorde' simply translates 'uiscera misericordiae.'

1055-6. Not in the Fr. text. Cf. P. Plowm. C. viii. 61, and the note.

1057. The Fr. text mentions five things; the fifth is a wicked love of sin; see Ayenb. p. 179.

1059. Fr. 'au regart de la peine d'enfer.'

1067. surquidrie, too great confidence; see 403 above, and the note.

1069. From S. Gregorii Moralium lib. xxxiv. cap. xix. § 36 (ed. Migne, vol. 76, col. 738):--'Ad districti ergo iudicis iustitiam pertinet, ut nunquam careant supplicio, quorum mens in hac uita nunquam uoluit carere peccato.'

1073. There is here a sad oversight. For 'the seconde wanhope,' we should read 'the same wanhope.' The second kind of despair is discussed in 1074. All the MSS. have this mistake.

1080. poverte espirituel; this refers to the 'poor in spirit'; Matt. v. 3. lowenesse, i. e. meekness; Matt. v. 5. hunger; Matt. v. 6. travaille; Matt. v. 4, 10, 11. lyf; Rom. viii. 13. This concluding passage may be compared with the concluding passage of the Ayenbite, p. 261. [475]

1081. This final paragraph is variously headed in the MSS. E. has: 'Here taketh the makere of this book his leue.' So also Cm. So also Pt., preceded by 'Explicit fabula Rectoris.' Hl. has: 'Preces de Chauceres.' The words 'this litel tretis' refer, of course, to the Persones Tale as originally written, so that some part of this concluding address was certainly added afterwards. The interpolation (due to Chaucer himself, if we may trust the evidence) probably extends (as Tyrwhitt suggested) from the words and namely in 1085 to the words salvacioun of my soule in 1090. This accounts for the unusual length of the sentence in 1084-1092. The addition was made at the time of revision, when Chaucer had made up his mind that the Persones Tale was to be the last; and he took the opportunity of writing the conclusion of the work before it was, in reality, completed. This accounts for the whole matter.

1083. Alluding to Rom. xv. 4.

1085. I revoke in my retracciouns, I recall by retracting what I may have said amiss. There is no need to lay an undue stress on this expression, as if the author had been compelled to denounce and retract most of his works. We may fairly understand the expression 'thilke that sownen into sinne' as applicable to all the works, and not to the Tales alone. Whilst thanking God for his devotional works, it was not out of place for him to 'recall' his more secular ones; for this expression seems to mean no more than that he could not claim that they were written in God's service. To 'revoke' cannot here mean 'to withdraw,' because the poems named were not withdrawn, nor was there any way in which such a result could have been brought about. Cf. vol. iii. p. 503.

1086. The book of the xix. Ladies is, of course, the Legend of Good Women. For xix., most MSS. have 'xxv.'; MS. Harl. 1758 has '25'; MS. Ln. has 'xv.'; and MS. Hl. has '29'; but we know, from the Poem itself, that 'xix.' is correct. Numbers, as the various readings shew, easily went wrong; see note to 565 above.

'The book of seint Valentynes day of the Parlement of Briddes' is all one title; the poem itself is well known.

1087. 'The book of the Lion' is now lost; most likely, as Tyrwhitt suggests, it was a translation from, or adaptation of, Le Dit du Lione, a poem by G. de Machault, composed in the year 1342. It is printed among Machault's poems. Lydgate, in his Prologue to the Falls of Princes, ascribes this work to Chaucer in the words:--

'And of the Lyon a boke he did wryte.'

But it is probable that Lydgate is merely quoting from the present passage, and knew no more of the matter than we do.

I may here note that Tyrwhitt expresses his astonishment that Chaucer does not expressly 'revoke' his translation of the Romaunt of the Rose; but it is sufficiently indicated by the words 'and namely [i. e. especially] of my translacions'; see 1085. [476]

1088. Boece, i. e. his translation of Boethius. Legendes, i. e. the Legend of St. Cecilia and the Legend of the boy-saint in the Prioresses Tale. Omelies, homilies; such as the Parson's Tale and the Tale of Melibeus. moralitee and devocioun; such as Chaucer's A B C, and his Balades on Fortune, Truth, Gentilesse, and Lack of Steadfastness; also the Monkes Tale, which is expressly called 'a Tragedie.' The Pardoneres Tale, moreover, is called 'an honest thing'; and even of the Nonnes Prestes Tale we are bidden, at the end, to 'take the moralitee.'

* * * * *

[477]

NOTES

TO

THE TALE OF GAMELYN.

1. Litheth, hearken ye; cf. l. 169. This is the imperative plural; so also lesteneth, herkeneth. See remarks on the dialect in vol. iii. p. 400. For the explanation of the harder words, see the Glossary. Compare: 'Now list and lithe, you gentlemen'; Percy Folio MS., ii. 218; 'Now lithe and listen, gentlemen,' id. iii. 77.

3. Iohan of Boundys. It is not clear what is meant by Boundys, which is repeated in l. 226; nor is there any clear indication of the supposed locality of the story. Lodge, in his novel (see vol. iii. p. 404), ingeniously substitutes Bourdeaux, and calls the knight 'Sir John of Bourdeaux.'[29] In Shakespeare, he becomes Sir Roland de Bois.

The reading righte (for right) is demanded by grammar, the article being in the definite form; and the same reading is equally demanded by the metre. Where the final e is thus necessary to the grammar and metre alike, there is little difficulty in restoring the correct reading. Compare the good-e knight in ll. 11, 25, 33.

4. 'He was sufficiently instructed by right bringing up, and knew much about sport.' Nurture is the old phrase for a 'genteel education.' Thus we find 'The boke of Nurture, or Schoole of good maners: for men, seruants, and children,' written by Hugh Rhodes, and printed in 1577; and John Russell's 'Boke of Nurture,' in MS. Harl. 4011. See the Babees Book, ed. F. J. Furnivall, 1868; where much information as to the behaviour of our forefathers is given. By game is meant what is now called sport; 'The Master of the Game' is the name of an old treatise on hunting; see Reliquiae Antiquae, i. 149. Cf. As You Like It, ii. 7. 97: 'Yet am I inland bred, And know some nurture.'

5. Thre sones, three sons. They are here named Johan, Ote, and Gamelyn; Lodge calls them Saladyne, Fernandine, and Rosader; in Shakespeare, they are Oliver, Jaques, and Orlando. The characters of the three are much the same in all three versions of the story.

6. sone he began, he soon began, viz. to evince his disposition. [478]

12. his day, his term of life, his lifetime. So in Hamlet, v. 1. 315, the 'dog will have his day.' Hence after his day is, practically, after his death.

14. 'This appears to mean, that the knight had himself acquired his land, and held it in fee simple (verrey purchas), not entailed nor settled; and that, consequently, he had a right to divide it among his children as he pleased. The housbond in this case means a man who was kept at home looking after his domestic business and his estates, and who could not be wyde-wher,' i. e. often far from home; note by Mr. Jephson. See ll. 58-61 below, which prove that the knight had partly inherited his land, and partly won it by military service. Cf. Chaucer, Prol. 256, 319. In the Freres Tale (D. 1449) we find:--

'And here I ryde about my purchasing, To wite wher men wolde yeve me any-thing; My purchas is theffect of al my rente.'

I cannot think that Dr. Morris is right in explaining purchasing by 'prosecution'; see Purchas in the Glossary.

16. hadde, might have; the subjunctive mood.

20. on lyve, in life; now written a-live or alive. Lyve is the dat. case, governed by on, which constantly has the sense of 'in' in A.S. and M.E.

23. ther, where. The reader should note this common idiom, or he will miss the structure of the sentence. Cf. ll. 33, 52, 66, &c.

31. ne dismay you nought, do not dismay yourself; i. e. be not dismayed or dispirited.

32. 'God can bring good out of the evil that is now wrought.' Boot, advantage, remedy, or profit, is continually contrasted with bale or evil; the alliteration of the words rendered them suitable for proverbial phrases. One of the commonest is 'When bale is hext, then boot is next,' i. e. when evil is highest (at its height), then the remedy is nighest. This is one of the Proverbs of Hendyng; see Specimens of English, ed. Morris and Skeat, part ii. p. 40. So, in l. 34, Boote of bale means 'remedy of evil,' good out of evil. See note to l. 631.

34. it is no nay, there is no denying it, it cannot be denied. So in Chaucer, C. T. 8693, 9015 (E. 817, 1139).

39. that on, that other, the one, the other. Sometimes corruptly written the ton, the tother; and hence the vulgar English the tother.

43. Such was their intention, but it was partly overruled; for we see, from l. 45, that the second son duly received his share.

48. whan he good cowde, when he knew what was good, i. e. when he was old enough to know right from wrong; or, as we now say, when he came to years of discretion. Observe that the division of land here proposed was not final; for the good knight, being still alive, altered it; see l. 54.

53. 'Saint Martin was a Hungarian by birth, and served in the army under Constantius and Julian. He is represented in pictures as [479] a Roman knight on horseback, with his sword dividing his cloak into two pieces, one of which he gives to a beggar. He was a strenuous opponent of the Arians, and died at Tours, where his relics were preserved and honoured.'--Jephson. St. Martin's day, commonly called Martinmas, is Nov. 11. The knight swears by St. Martin in his character of soldier. Cf. l. 225.

57. plowes, ploughlands; see the Glossary.

62. The knight's intention was, evidently, that Gamelyn's share should be the best. In Lodge's novel, Sir John gives to the eldest 'fourteen ploughlands, with all my manner-houses and my richest plate'; to the second, 'twelve ploughlands'; but to the youngest, says he, 'I give my horse, my armour, and my launce, with sixteene ploughlands; for, if the inwarde thoughts be discovered by outward shadows, Rosader wil exceed you all in bountie and honour.'

64. 'That my bequest may stand,' i. e. remain good.

67. stoon-stille, as still as a stone. So Chaucer has 'as stille as stoon'; Clerkes Tale, E. 121. See ll. 263, 423.

76. 'And afterwards he paid for it in his fair skin.' We should now say, his recompense fell upon his own head.

78. of good wil, readily, of their own accord. 'They of their own accord feared him as being the strongest.' So also 'of thine own good will,' Shak. Rich. II. iv. 1. 177; 'by her good will,' Venus and Adonis, 479. But the nearest parallel passage is in Octouian Imperator, l. 561, pr. in Weber's Metrical Romances, iii. 180. It is there said of some sailors who were chased by a lioness, that they ran away very hastily 'with good wylle.' Cf. in wille, i. e. anxious, in l. 173.

82. To handle his beard, i. e. to feel, by his beard, that he was of full age. Lodge has a parallel passage, but gives a more literal sense to the expression 'hondlen his berd,' which merely signifies that he was growing up. 'With that, casting up his hand, he felt haire on his face, and perceiving his beard to bud, for choler he began to blush, and swore to himselfe he would be no more subject to such slaverie.' Cf. As You Like It, iii. 2. 218, 396.

90. 'Is our meat prepared,' i. e. is our dinner ready? Our perhaps means my, being used in a lordly style. See the next note.

92. Observe the use of the familiar thou, in place of the usual respectful ye. This accounts for the elder brother's astonishment, as expressed in the next line.

100. 'Brother by name, and brother in that only.'

101. that rape was of rees, who was hasty in his fit of passion. Mr. Jephson's explanation 'deprived of reason for anger' is incorrect. Rape is hasty; see the Glossary. Rees is the modern E. race, A. S. r[=æ]s, applied to any sudden course, whether bodily or mental; cf. l. 547. So in Gower, ed. Pauli, i. 335, we find:--

'Do thou no-thinge in suche a rees,'

i. e. do nothing in such a sudden fit; referring to Pyramus, who rashly slew himself upon the hasty false assumption that Thisbe was dead. [480]

102. gadeling, fellow; a term of reproach. But observe that the sarcasm lies in the similarity of the sound of the word to Gamelyn. Hence Gamelyn's indignant reply. In P. Plowman, C. xi. 297, gadelynges are ranked with false folk, deceivers, and liars.

103. 'Thou shall be glad to get mere food and clothing.'

109. ner, nigher, the old comparative form; afterwards written near, and wrongly extended to near-er, with a double comparative suffix. Cf. l. 135, 352.

a-foote, on foot; not a foot, the length of a foot, as that would have no final e.

115. schal algate, must in any case.

116. This is obscure; it may mean 'unless thou art the one (to do it)'; i. e. to give me the beating. In other words, Gamelyn dares his brother to use the rod himself, not to delegate such an office to another. But his brother was much too wary to take such advice; he preferred to depute the business to his men.

121. over-al, all about, all round, everywhere.

122. stood, i. e. which stood. The omission of the relative is common.

125. good woon, good store; plentifully.

129. for his eye, for awe of him. His is not the possessive pronoun here, but the genitive of the personal pronoun.

130. by halves, lit. by sides; i. e. some to one side, some to the other. drowe by halves = sidled away.

131. 'May ye prosper ill!' Cf. Chaucer, Pard. Tale, C. 947.

136. 'I will teach thee some play with the buckler.' An allusion to the 'sword and buckler play,' described in Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, bk. iii. ch. 6. § 22. Not unlike our modern 'single-stick,' but with the addition of a buckler in the left hand. Strutt gives a picture from a Bodleian MS., dated 1344, in which clubs or bludgeons are substituted for swords; and, no doubt, the swords used in sport were commonly of wood. Gamelyn is speaking jocosely; he had no buckler, but he had a wooden 'pestel,' which did very well for a sword.

137. 'by Saint Richard was a favourite oath[30] with the outlaws of Robin Hood's stamp, probably because of his Saxon extraction'; Jephson. Mr. Jephson adds the following quotation from the English Martyrologe, 1608: 'Saint Richard, King and Confessor, was sonne to Lotharius, King of Kent, who, for the love of Christ, taking upon him a long peregrination, went to Rome for devotion to that sea [see], and, on his way homeward, died at Lucca, about the year of Christ 750, where his body is kept until this day, with great veneration, in the oratory and chappell of St. Frigidian, and adorned with an epitaph both in verse and prose.' But this is altogether beside the mark; for Mr. Jephson certainly refers to the wrong saint. There were four St. Richards, commemorated, respectively, on Feb. 7, April 3, June 9, and August 21; see Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints. The day of [481] the Saxon king is Feb. 7; but he could hardly have been so fresh in the memory of Englishmen as the more noted St. Richard, bishop of Chichester, who died in 1253, and was canonized in 1262; his day being April 3. There is a special fitness in the allusion to this latter saint, because he was a pattern of brotherly love, and Johan is here deprecating Gamelyn's anger. Alban Butler says of him: 'The unfortunate situation of his eldest brother's affairs gave him an occasion of exercising his benevolent disposition. Richard condescended to become his brother's servant, undertook the management of his farms, and by his industry and generosity effectually retrieved his brother's before distressed circumstances.' His name still appears in our Prayer-books.

141. I mot nede is used for 'I must needs'; see examples in Mätzner, Alteng. Sprachproben, i. 302 (182). Mot is the present tense; whereas moste (mod. E. must) is the past tense, and was once grammatically incorrect as a form of the present tense.

150. of thing, of a thing; as in Sir Tristram, 406.

154. 'And mind that thou blame me, unless I soon grant it.'

156. 'If we are to be at one,' i. e. to be reconciled. Cf. l. 166.

158. 'Thou must cause me to possess it, if we are not to quarrel.'

160. We should now say--'All that your father left you, and more too, if you would like to have it.' The offer is meant to be very liberal.

164. 'As he well knew (how to do).'

167. 'In no respect he knew with what sort of a false treason his brother kissed him.' Whiche is cognate with the Latin qualis, and has here the same sense.

171. 'There was a wrestling-match proclaimed there, hard by.'

172. 'And, as prizes for it, there were exhibited a ram and a ring.' In Lodge's novel, 'a day of wrastling and tournament' is appointed by Torimond, king of France. In Chaucer's Prologue, A. 548, we find: 'At wrastling he wolde have alwey the ram.' On this Tyrwhitt has the following note: 'This was the usual prize at wrestling-matches. See C. T. l. 13671 [Sir Thopas, st. 5], and Gamelyn, ll. 184, 280. Mathew Paris mentions a wrestling-match at Westminster, A. D. 1222, at which a ram was the prize.' In Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, bk. ii. ch. 2. § 14, two men are represented as wrestling for a live cock. Strutt also quotes a passage from 'A mery Geste of Robin Hode,' which gives an account of a wrestling, at which the following prizes were 'set up' (the same phrase being used as here), viz. a white bull, a courser with saddle and bridle, a pair of gloves, a red gold ring, and a pipe of wine!

199. 'Why dost thou thus behave?' i. e. make this lamentation. Cf. As You Like It, i. 2. 133-140.

204. 'Unless God be surety for them,' i. e. ensure their recovery. The story supposes that the two sons are not slain, but greatly disabled; as Shakespeare says, 'there is little hope of life' in them.

206. with the nones, on the occasion that, provided that. For the [482] nones, for the occasion, stands for for then ones, for the once; so here with the nones = with then ones, with the once. Then is the dat. case of the article, being a weakened form of A.S. ð[=a]m. Cf. l. 456.

207. wilt thow wel doon, if thou wishest to do a kind deed.

214. drede not of, fear not for.

217. 'How he dared adventure himself, to prove his strength upon him that was so doughty a champion.'

224. whyl he couthe go, whilst he was able to go about.

230. a moche schrewe thou were, thou wast a great doer of mischief. Gamelyn retorts that he is now a more, i. e. a still greater doer of mischief. Moche is often used of size. In Havelok, l. 982, more than the meste = bigger than the biggest.

236. gonne goon, did go. Gonne is a mere auxiliary verb.

237. 'The champion tried various sleights upon Gamelyn, who was prepared for them.'

240. faste aboute, busily employed, trying your best. Cf. l. 785.

248. Spoken ironically, 'shall it be counted as a throw, or as none?'

249. whether, &c., whichever it be accounted.

253. of him, &c., he stood in no awe of him. Instead of our modern expression 'he stood in awe of him,' the M.E. expression is, usually, 'he stood awe of him,' suppressing in. It probably arose out of the very construction here used, viz. 'awe of him stood to him,' i. e. arose in him. However that may be, the idiom is common. Thus, in Barbour's Bruce, iii. 62:--

'Quhen that the lord of Lorne saw His men stand off him ane sik awe.'

In Havelok, l. 277:--

'Al Engelond of him stod awe, Al Engelond was of him adrad.'

So also, 'he stode of him non eye'; Rob. of Brunne, tr. of Langtoft, p. 8, l. 24. So also in Wallace, v. 929, vi. 878.

255. 'Who was not at all well pleased.'

256. 'He is an evil master.' The reading oure alther mayster (in Cp.) means--'he is master of us all.'

257. 'It is full yore ago'; it is very long ago.

262. wil no-more, desires no more, has had enough.

270. 'This fair is done.' A proverb, meaning that the things of the fair are sold, and there is no more business to be done.

271. 'As I hope to do well, I have not yet sold up the half of my ware'; i. e. I have more to offer. The wrestler, in spite of his pain, utters the grim joke that Gamelyn sells his ware too dearly.

272. halvendel is for A.S. healfne d[=æ]l or þone healfan d[=æ]l, the accusative case. The word of is to be understood after it. See Zupitza's Notes to Guy of Warwick, l. 5916.

273. See note to l. 334.

276. lakkest, dispraisest, decriest. In P. Plowman, B. v. 130, we [483] find 'to blame mennes ware'; and, only two lines below, the equivalent phrase 'to lakke his chaffare.'

277. 'By Saint James in Galicia.' In Chaucer's Prologue, the Wife of Bath had been 'in Galice at Seint Jame.' The shrine of St. James, at Compostella in Galicia, was much frequented by pilgrims. See my note to Prol. 466, at p. 44 above. It is remarkable that the whole of this line is quoted from A Poem on the Times of Edw. II., l. 475; see Political Songs, ed. Wright, p. 345. It occurs again below, l. 764.

278. 'Yet it is too cheap, that which thou hast bought.' The franklin tells the defeated wrestler that it is not for him to call Gamelyn's ware dear, for he has, in fact, been let off much too cheaply. Our modern cheap is short for good cheap, i. e. bought in good market. To buy in a good cheap was shortened to to buy good cheap, and finally became to buy cheap.

281. have, have, receive, take.

285. rowte, company. We are to suppose that a crowd of Gamelyn's admirers accompanied him home. In Lodge's novel, the elder brother 'sawe wher Rosader returned with the garland on his head, as having won the prize, accompanied with a crue of boon companions; greeved at this, he stepped in and shut the gate.'

297. See note to l. 334.

302. though thou haddest swore, though thou hadst sworn (the contrary). This curious phrase occurs also in Chaucer, Kn. Tale, A. 1089, where 'althogh we hadde it sworn' is equivalent to 'though we had sworn (the contrary).'

312. 'That desired either to walk or to ride in.' Go, when opposed to ride, means to go on foot, to walk.

318. and ye wil doon after me, if ye will act according to my advice; spoken parenthetically.

321. oure catour, caterer for us. oure aller purs, the purse of us all. Cf. footnotes to l. 256.

324. largely, liberally; the usual old meaning.

328. no cheste, no strife, no quarrelling.

334. so, &c., 'as I hope to enjoy the use of my eye'; lit. 'as I may use my eye.' This phrase occurs also in Havelok, 2545: 'So mote ich brouke mi rith eie,' as I hope to have the use of my right eye. And again in the same, l. 1743, with the substitution of 'finger or toe' for 'right eye'; and in l. 311, with the substitution of 'mi blake swire,' i. e. my black neck; cf. ll. 273, 297 above. See also ll. 407, 489, 567. Even Chaucer has: 'So mote I brouke wel myn eyen tweye,' as I hope to make good use of my two eyes; Nonne Prestes Tale, 479 (B. 4490).

338. bitaughte is used in two senses; they commended Gamelyn to God's protection, and bade him good day.

345. mangerye, feast, lit. an eating. It occurs in P. Plowman, C. xiii. 46; Wyclif, Works, ed. Arnold, i. 4. In Sir Amadace, st. 55, a wedding-feast is called a maungery, and lasted 40 days; Early Eng. Metrical Romances, ed. Robson, p. 49. Cf. ll. 434, 464. [484]

349, 350. These lines are anticipatory; they give a brief summary of the next part of the story.

352. ful neer, much nearer. See note to l. 109.

366. Iohan was pronounced like modern E. Jawn, and rimes with noon, pronounced as nawn (with aw as in awe). So also in Chaucer, Man of Lawes Tale, B. 1019.

367. 'By my faith'; cf. l. 555. Chaucer has 'by my fey'; Kn. Tale, 268 (A. 1126).

368. 'If thou thinkest the same as thou sayst, may God requite it thee!'

372. Tho, when. threwe, didst throw; observe the absence of -st in the suffix of the second person of the past tense of strong verbs.

373. moot, meeting, assembly, concourse of people; in allusion to the crew of companions whom Gamelyn introduced. Moreover, the word moot was especially used of an assembly of men in council, like our modern meeting. But it is, perhaps, simpler to take it in the sense of public disputation, dispute; cf. St. Katherine, l. 1314, and cf. M.E. motien, to dispute publicly. Indeed, as the rimes are often imperfect, the original word may have been mood, i. e. anger.

376. It was not uncommon, to prevent a person from being forsworn, that the terms of an oath should be literally fulfilled; cf. Merch. Ven. iv. l. 326. In his novel, Lodge avoids all improbability by a much simpler device. He makes the eldest brother surprise the youngest in his sleep. 'On a morning very early he cald up certain of his servants, and went with them to the chamber of Rosader, which being open, he entered with his crue, and surprized his brother when he was asleepe, and bound him with fetters,' &c.

382. Here, as in l. 420, all the MSS. have honde. The final e probably represents the dative or instrumental case, and the correct reading is fote and honde, as in MSS. Pt. and Ln. in both passages.

386. wood, mad. It was common to bind and starve madmen, and to treat them cruelly. Even Malvolio was to be put 'in a dark room and bound'; Tw. Nt. iii. 4. 147. Cf. As You Like It, iii. 2. 421.

392. a party is an adverb, meaning 'partly,' or 'in some measure.' Cf. P. Plowman, B. xv. 17; Hampole, Prick of Conscience, 2334.

394. or, ere, before; not 'or.' be, been.

398. 'Spence, or (according to the original French form of the word) despense, was the closet or room in convents and large houses where the victuals, wine, and plate were locked up; and the person who had the charge of it was called the spencer, or the despencer. Hence originated two common family names.'--Wright. The spence, however, like the spencer, owed its name to the O.F. verb despendre, to spend; as explained in my Etym. Dict. s. v. spend. See the Glossary. Lodge retains the name of Adam Spencer; whence Adam in Shakespeare.

411. 'Upon such an agreement.'

413. 'All as I may prosper'; as I hope to thrive.

414. After wil supply lose; see the footnote. 'I will hold covenant with thee, if thou wilt loose me.' [485]

430. wher I go, whether shall I go. Wher is a contracted form of whether, like or for other. Girde of, strike off.

433. that this, &c., that this is a thing not to be denied, a sure thing.

438. hem, them, i. e. the fetters (understood); cf. l. 498.

441. borwe the, be surety for thee, go bail for thee.

444. do an other, act in another way, try another course. There is no authority for inserting thing after other.

445. Lodge says: 'and at the ende of the hall shall you see stand a couple of good pollaxes, one for you and another for me.'

449. 'If we must in any case absolve them of their sin.' Said jocosely; he was going to absolve them after a good chastisement.

451. St. Charity was the daughter of St. Sophia, who christened her three daughters Fides, Spes, and Caritas; see Butler's Lives of the Saints (Aug. 1). Cf. Percy Folio MS., i. 28; l. 26.

453. Lodge says: 'When I give you a wincke,' &c.

456. for the nones, for the occasion; see note to l. 206.

460. leste and meste, least and greatest.

461. halle, of the hall; A. S. healle, gen. case of heal, a hall. Here, and in l. 496, we may take halle-dore as a compound word, but halle is still a genitive form.

471. ther that, where that; as commonly.

481. 'Who beggeth for thee (to come) out of prison, or who may be surety for thee; but ever may it be well with them that cause thee much sorrow.'

485. 'All that may be surety for thee, may evil befall them'; lit. 'may it befall them evilly.'

489. so, &c., 'as I hope to make use of my bones,' lit. bone.

503. 'Gamelyn sprinkles holy water with an oaken sprig.' Said jocosely; Gamelyn flourishes his staff like one who sprinkles holy water. A spire is properly a springing shoot, hence a sprig or sapling. Cf. Troil. ii. 1335. See the Glossary.

509. Mr. Jephson here remarks as follows:--'The hatred of churchmen, of holy water, and of everything connected with the church, observable in all the ballads of this class, is probably owing to the fact, that William the Conqueror and his immediate successors systematically removed the Saxon bishops and abbots, and intruded Normans in their stead into all the valuable preferments in England. But there were also other grounds for the odium in which these foreign prelates were held. Sharing in the duties of the common law judges, they participated in the aversion with which the functionaries of the law were naturally regarded by outlaws and robbers,' &c. He also quotes, from the Lytel Geste of Robin Hood, the following:--

'These bysshopes and these archebysshoppes, Ye shall them beete and bynde; The high sheryfe of Notynghame, Hym holde ye in your mynde.'

[486] It may be added that Lodge entirely omits here all mention of abbot, prior, monk, or canon. Times had changed.

514. 'Pay a liberal allowance,' i. e. deal your blows bountifully.

515. so ever, &c., 'as sure as ever I hear mass.' Cf. l. 595.

520. telle largely, count fully.

523. the croune, i. e. the crown of each man's head; alluding to the tonsure. It means, do not spoil the tonsure on their crowns, but break their legs and arms.

531. cold reed, cold counsel, unprofitable counsel. So in Chaucer, Nonne Prestes Tale, B. 4446; see the note. So Shakespeare has 'colder tidings'; Rich. III, iv. 4. 536. Cf. l. 759 below.

532. 'It had been better for us.' Cf. l. 621.

533. This is ironical, and refers, as Mr. Jephson rightly says, to the laying on of hands, whereby Gamelyn made his victims deacons and priests after a new fashion of his own.

543. here love, love of them; here awe, awe of them. Here = A.S. hira, gen. pl. of h[=e], he. Hence here also means 'their,' as in l. 569.

558. ther ... inne, wherein (Gamelyn was).

567. 'As I hope to have the use of my chin.' See note to l. 334.

578. 'I will repay thee for thy words, when I see my opportunity.'

583. It ben, they are; lit. it are. A common idiom in Middle English. See P. Plowman, C. vi. 59, ix. 217, xvi. 309; and compare it am I, as in Chaucer, Man of Lawes Tale, B. 1109.

588. 'Make their beds in the fen,' i. e. lie down in the fen or mud.

596. Spoken ironically. Adam offers them some refreshment. They reply, that his wine is not good, being too strong; indeed, so strong that it will not only, like ordinary wine, steal away a man's brains, but even take them out of his head altogether, so that they lie scattered in his hood. In other words. Adam's staff breaks their heads, and lets the brains out.

606. 'It is better for us to be there at large.'

609. Lodge says that they 'tooke their way towards the forest of Arden.'

610. 'Then the sheriff found the nest, but no egg (in it).' So also in William of Palerne, l. 83: 'Than fond he nest and no nei[gh] · for nou[gh]t nas ther leued'; i. e. for nothing was left there. No nei[gh] = non ei[gh], no egg.

616. and loke how he fare, and let us see how he may fare.

618. Here Adam merely expresses disgust of his new mode of life. In Lodge's novel, he begins to faint, being old. Cf. l. 817.

621. lever me were, it would be preferable for me.

631. 'After misery comes help.' So in the Proverbs of Hendyng, as said above, in note to l. 32. Trench, in his book On Proverbs, quotes a Hebrew proverb:--When the tale of bricks is doubled, Moses comes.

642. 'Whoso looked aright,' i. e. if one were to look carefully.

651. i. e. I only curse (or blame) myself if I yield. [487]

652. 'Though ye fetched five more, ye would then be only twelve in number.' He means that he would fight twelve of them.

660. In Lodge's novel, the chief is 'Gerismond the lawfull King of France, banished by Torismond, who with a lustie crue of Outlawes lived in that Forrest.' But the present text evidently refers to an English outlaw, such as Robin Hood.

666. 'I will adventure myself as far as the door.' Spoken proverbially, there being no door in the wood. He means that he will venture within sight of the chief. hadde mete, might have food.

689. 'His peace was made'; i. e. his pardon had been obtained.

698. 'And caused his brother to be indicted.'

700. wolves-heed, wolf's head. 'This was the ancient Saxon formula of outlawry, and seems to have been literally equivalent to setting the man's head at the same estimate as a wolf's head. In the laws of Edward the Confessor [§ 6], it is said of a person who has fled justice, 'Si postea repertus fuerit et teneri possit, vivus regi reddatur, vel caput ipsius si se defenderit; lupinum enim caput geret a die utlagacionis sue, quod ab Anglis wluesheued nominatur. Et hec sententia communis est de omnibus utlagis.'--Wright. See Thorpe, Ancient Laws, &c., i. 445.

701. of his men, i. e. (some) of his men.

703. 'How the wind was turned'; i. e. which way the wind blew, as we now say.

704. 'When a man's lands were seized by force or unjustly, the peasantry on the estates were exposed to be plundered and ill-treated by the followers of the intruder.'--Wright.

707. 'The messengers of ill tidings, however innocent themselves, often experienced all the first anger of the person to whom they carried them, in the ages of feudal power. Hence the bearer of ill news generally began by deprecating the wrath of the person addressed.'--Wright. This was not, however, peculiar to those times. Cf. Sophocles, Antigone, 228; 2 Hen. IV. i. I. 100; Rich. III. iv. 4. 510; Macb. v. 5. 39.

709. 'I. e. has obtained government of the bailiwick. In former times ... the high sheriff was the officer personally responsible for the peace of his bailiwick, which he maintained by calling out the posse comitatus to assist him.'--Jephson.

710. doth thee crye, causes thee to be proclaimed.

713. 'Greet well my husbands (i. e. servants) and their wives.' The A.S. wif was a neuter substantive, and remained unchanged in the plural, like sheep and deer in modern English. We find wif as a pl. form also in Layamon, l. 1507. The present is a very late example.

714. 'I will go to (attend) the next assizes; see note to l. 715. If schire refers to the shire or county, the result is much the same. In venturing into the shire of which his brother was sheriff, Gamelyn was boldly putting himself into his brother's power.

715. nexte schire, may mean 'next (succeeding) assizes'; for schire [488] may be used in the sense of A. S. sc[=i]r-gem[=o]t; and the Lat. comitatus meant curia as well as 'county.' See, for example, the last quotation in the note to l. 871.

718. 'Put down his hood,' lowered his hood, so as to show his face.

724. leet take Gamelyn, caused (men) to take Gamelyn; we now say 'caused Gamelyn to be taken,' changing the verb from active to passive. The active use of the verb is universal in such phrases in Middle English, as is still common in German. 'Er liess Gamelyn nehmen.' Cf. l. 733.

727. Ote is not a common name; we find mention of 'Sir Otes de Lile' in Libius Disconius, l. 1103, in the Percy Folio MS., ii. 455. Otes is equivalent to 'Otho'; see Le Livere de Reis de Angletere, ed. Glover, p. 268, l. 6; and p. 272. The form Otoun or Oton is equivalent to Lat. acc. Othonem.

732. wonder sory, wonderfully sorry. nothing light, in no degree light-hearted.

738. 'May evil befall such another brother (as thou art)'; cf. l. 485.

744. 'I offer to bail him,' lit. I bid for him for bail; mainprise being a sb., and him a dative case. Mr. Jephson says--'I demand that he be granted to me on mainprise, or bail, till the assize for general gaol-delivery.'

752. 'Cause (men) to deliver him at once, and to hand him over to me.'

761. sitte means 'may sit'; cf. l. 749.

779. cors, curse. He was never cursed by those with whom he had dealings. This can only refer to the poor whom he never oppressed. The author quietly ignores the strong language of the churchmen whom he stripped of everything. This is precisely the tone adopted in the Robin Hood ballads.

782. nom, catch, take; a new form of the infinitive mood. It arose from the pt. t. cam, by analogy of comen from cam. See Mätzner, Alteng. Sprachproben, i. 261, l. 80.

785. fast aboute, busily employed. See l. 240.

786. to hyre the quest, to suborn the jury. See l. 801.

790. seet, should sit. The A.S. for sat is sæt, but for should sit (3rd pers. sing. of the pt. t. subj.) is s[=æ]te. The latter became the M.E. seete; hence seet, by loss of the final e. It rimes with beheet (A.S. beh[=e]t).

806. spet, short for speedeth; cf. stant for standeth, &c.

834. of, in. So in Shakespeare, Jul. Cæsar, ii. 1. 157--'We shall find of him A shrewd contriver.'

840. the quest is oute, the verdict is (already) delivered.

852. the barre, the bar in front of the justice's seat; see ll. 860, 867.

864. 'It seemed a very long time to him.'

871. sisours, jury-men. I copy the following from my note on P. Plowman, B. ii. 62. 'The exact signification of sisour does not seem quite certain, and perhaps it has not always the same meaning. The [489] Low-Latin name was assissores or assisiarii, interpreted by Ducange to mean "qui a principe vel a domino feudi delegati assisias tenent"; whence Halliwell's explanation of sisour as a person deputed to hold assizes. Compare--

"Þys fals men, þat beyn sysours, Þat for hate a trew man wyl endyte, And a þefe for syluer quyte." Robert of Brunne, Handlyng Synne, 1335.'

Mr. Furnivall's note says--'Sysour, an inquest-man at assizes. The sisour was really a juror, though differing greatly in functions and in position from what jurymen subsequently became; see Forsyth's Hist. of Trial by Jury.' In the tale of Gamelyn, however, it is pretty clear that 'the twelve sisours that weren of the quest' were simply the twelve gentlemen of the jury, who were hired to give false judgment (l. 786). Blount, in his Law Dictionary, says of assisors, that 'in Scotland (according to Skene) they are the same with our jurors.' The following stanza from A Poem of the Times of Edw. II., ll. 469-474 (printed in Political Songs, ed. Wright, p. 344), throws some light on the text:--

'And thise assisours, that comen to shire and to hundred, Damneth men for silver, and that nis no wonder. For whan the riche justise wol do wrong for mede, Thanne thinketh hem thei muwen the bet, for thei han more nede To winne. Ac so is al this world ablent, that no man douteth sinne.'

880. 'To swing about with the ropes, and to be dried in the wind.'

881. 'Sorrow may he have who cares for it.' Not an uncommon phrase. In P. Plowman, B. vi. 122, it appears as 'þe deuel haue þat reccheth,' i. e. the devil take him who regrets it.

885. This seems to mean, 'he was hanged by the neck, and not by the purse.' That is, he was really hanged, and not merely made to suffer in his purse by paying a fine; cf. Ch. Prol. 657.

889. of the best assise, in the truest manner; cf. l. 544.

900. 'Buried under the earth.'

901. 'No man can escape it.'

* * * * *

[490]

ADDENDA.

NOTE: to vol. i. p. ix. I am informed that it appears, from a charter in the British Museum, that one Galfridus de Chaucere is a witness to a grant of land to Hatfield Broad Oak Priory, co. Essex, about A.D. 1300. This shews that the poet was not the first of his surname to bear the name of Geoffrey.

ROM. ROSE, 923. Turke bowes, Turkish bows. The form Turke can hardly be right, as the adjective is required. The original copy probably had 'Turk_is_,' with the is written as a contraction; this would easily be misread as 'Turk_e_,' i. e. as if the contraction stood for e. The French text has ars turquois, as the reader can see.

Cotgrave gives: 'Arc turquois, the Turkish long-bow.' But the Turkish long-bow was short, as compared with the English. Strutt speaks of his seeing the Turkish ambassador shoot; this was in the year 1800. 'The bow he used was much shorter than those belonging to the English archers; and his arrows were of the bolt kind, with round heads made of wood'; Sports and Pastimes, bk. ii. c. i. § 17. Cf. 'with bowes turkoys,' Percy Folio MS., ed. Hales and Furnivall, ii. 458.

III. (Book of the Duchesse), 1318, 1319. The lines are:--

A LONG CASTEL with walles WHYTE, By seynt IOHAN! on a RICHE HIL.

There can be no doubt that (as has been suggested by the Bishop of Oxford) these apparently otiose lines contain punning allusions to the whole subject of the poem. LONG-CASTELL (put for Lon-castell, or the castle on the Lune) was another name for Lancaster; compare the modern Lonsdale as a name for the valley of the Lune, and see Barbour's Bruce, xvii. 285, 582. WHYTE alludes to Blanche. Thus the former line expresses Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster.

In the second line, the RICHE HIL refers to Richmond in Yorkshire; and the whole line expresses John, Earl of Richmond. John of Gaunt had been created Earl of Richmond (vol. i. p. xviii).

BOETHIUS. For some corrections, see vol. ii. p. lxxix.

TROILUS. For some corrections and additions, see vol. ii. pp. lxxix, lxxx.

For an Additional Note to Bk. iii. 674, see vol. ii. p. 506.

LEGEND OF GOOD WOMEN. For an Additional Note to ll. 1896-8, see vol. iii. p. lvi. [491]

VOL. III. pp. 421, 422. SOURCES OF THE PRIORESSES TALE. It is tolerably clear that Chaucer really got the former part of this story from one of the Miracles of our Lady, by Gautier de Coinci or Coincy[31]. And I have now little doubt that he adapted the latter part of it from another story in the same collection (and therefore in the same MS.), by the same author. It so happens that the latter story is printed in Bartsch and Horning's collection in 'La Langue et la Littérature Françaises'; Paris, 1887; col. 367. It is there entitled 'De Clerico Sancte Virgini devoto, in cuius iam mortui ore flos inuentus est.' It is rather a stupid and pointless story, to the following effect. There was a wicked cleric at Chartres, who gave himself up to all kinds of debauchery; but he had one merit. He never passed an image of Our Lady without kneeling down and saying a prayer. Some enemies killed him; and it was at once resolved to bury him in a ditch, as an outcast; and this was done. But Our Lady appeared to one of the chief clergy, and commanded that he should be buried again, in the holiest spot in the cemetery. When the body was recovered, it was found that the tongue of the corpse remained uncorrupted, being as red as a rose, and a miraculous flower was blossoming in his mouth. He was reburied in holy ground, with many tears from the pious. It was also observed that his tongue still slowly moved, as if endeavouring to sing the Virgin's praises.

This is rather a clumsy assumption; for the tongue might have been trying to swear. Hence Chaucer gives it a real voice; and substitutes a small grain in place of the flower; probably because there was a well-known legend about the three grains found by Seth under Adam's tongue (above, p. 180, note to l. 1852). Chaucer's tale is really made up, with great skill, from a combination of these two poems by Gautier de Coinci; and it is highly remarkable that, in the Vernon MS., there is a version of the story which says that five roses were found in the child's head; one in his mouth, two in his eyes, and two in his ears. In the Legend of Alphonsus of Lincoln (see vol. iii. p. 421), the child has a precious stone in place of a tongue; but this legend was composed in 1459, and was probably copied from Chaucer. I think it highly probable that Chaucer combined the two 'Miracles' himself; though of course some one else may have done it before him. In any case, it is worth while pointing out that we must combine the two stories by de Coinci, before we obtain the whole of Chaucer's poem.

VOL. III. pp. 502, 503. The statement that the French treatise by Frère Lorens, entitled La Somme des Vices et des Vertus, 'has never been printed,' is incorrect. However, the book is scarce. Mr. Bradley tells me that there is a copy of it in the British Museum, printed by Anthoine Verard 'sus le pont notre dame,' Paris. It is undated, but it is said to have been printed in 1495. [492]

CANTERBURY TALES.

The Canterbury Tales, and especially the Prologue, are so full of allusions and expressions that either require or invite illustrations, that no commentary upon them can be considered exhaustive. Consequently, those points only have, for the most part, been considered where the expressions used are for any reason difficult, obscure, or likely to be misunderstood; for it frequently happens that, by a change in meaning, the modern form or use of a word suggests a wrong impression.

A considerable number of words and phrases which occur in Chaucer have already been explained by me in the Notes to Piers the Plowman. Hence, in many cases, additional illustrations and references can easily be had by consulting the 'Index to the Explanations in the Notes' printed in P. Plowman, vol. iv. pp. 464-491.

The 'Index of Books referred to in the Notes' to the same, vol. iv. pp. 492-502, gives a long list of books, most of which are useful for the illustration of Chaucer also. I add here a few additional notes, taken almost at random, for two of which I am indebted to Professor Earle.

A. 30. Zupitza (Notes to Guy of Warwick, 855, p. 361) further illustrates this line. 'There can be no doubt that the pp. goon is to be supplied.' He quotes 'to reste eode þa sunne,' Layamon, 28328; 'until the son was gon to rest,' Iwaine, 3612, ed. Ritson (Met. Romances, i. 151); also from J. Grimm, Mythology, p. 702, who treats of the M.H.G. phrase ze reste g[=a]n.

A. 179. It is shown (vol. v. p. 22) that the simile about the fish out of water occurs in the Life of St. Anthony. Chaucer clearly took it from Jehan de Meung (or Jean de Meun); but the French poet probably took it from the Life of St. Anthony in the Legenda Aurea. We find it even in Caxton's Golden Legende:--'for lyke as fysshes that haue ben longe in the water whan they come in-to drye londe they muste dye, in lyke wyse the monkes that goon out of theyr cloystre or selles, yf they conuerse longe wyth seculiers they must nedes lose theyr holynesse and leue theyr good lyf.'

A. 387. With the beste, 'as well as possible,' but originally 'among the best.' So in Zupitza, notes to Guy of Warwick, l. 1496. He quotes Mätzner's Grammatik, II. 2. 434; King Horn, 1326, knight with the beste; &c. Cf. with the furste, King Horn, 1119.

A. 467. She coude muche of wandring by the weye; i. e. she knew much which she had learnt through being so great a traveller.--J. Earle.

I have explained it above, p. 44, by--'She knew much about travelling.' The original will bear either interpretation; all depends upon the meaning of the word of. [493]

A. 655. See Freeman, vol. v. p. 497, and his quotation from John of Salisbury, Ep. 146 (Giles, i. 260):--'Erat, ut memini, genus hominum, qui in ecclesia Dei archidiaconorum censentur nomine, quibus vestra discretio omnem salutis viam querebatur esse praeclusam. Nam, ut dicere consuevistis, diligunt munera, sequuntur retributiones, ad injurias proni sunt, calumniis gaudent, peccata populi comedunt et bibunt, quibus vivitur ex rapto, ut non sit hospes ab hospite tutus.'--J. Earle. [From Freeman's Hist. of the Norman Conquest, ed. 1867-79.]

Cf. the Somnours Tale; especially D. 1315, 1317, and the notes.

A. 1155. For par amour, see all the instances referred to in the Glossary. The fact that it sometimes means 'with all affection,' or 'affectionately,' is well illustrated by a passage in the Coventry Mysteries, p. 50, where it is put into the mouth of Abraham, when addressing Isaac. 'Thu art my suete childe, and par amoure Ful wele in herte do I the loue.'

A. 1452. Seven yeer is an old proverbial expression for a long time; see Seven-year in Halliwell; P. Plowman, C. vii. 214, xi. 73; Zupitza's notes to Guy of Warwick (l. 8667); &c. The curious thing is that Chaucer understood himself literally: 'It fel that in the seventhe yeer, in May'; A. 1462.

A. 2749. Some further illustration of the word expulsive as a technical term may be found in old treatises. Thus Brunetto Latini, in his Livres dou Tresor, livre i. part iii. chap. 103, says that the four virtues which sustain life are the appetitive (due to the element of fire), the retentive (due to earth), the digestive (due to air), and the expulsive (due to water). Hence we have an appetite for food; we retain it; we digest it; and expel it. 'L'aigue est froide et moiste, et fait la vertu expulsive, ce est qu'ele chace fuer la viande quant ele est cuite.' Sir Thos. Elyot, Castel of Helth, 1539, p. 10, says there are three Powers, animal, spiritual, and natural. Of these, it is the natural power which 'appetiteth, retayneth, digesteth, expelleth'; whereas it is the 'power animall' that 'ordeyneth, discerneth, and composeth; that moueth by voluntarye mocyon,' &c. Of the four 'operations,' he says that 'expulsion [is] by colde and moyste.' The whole of this sort of jargon is full of inconsistencies.

A. 3287. Do wey, i. e. take away. So also go wey occurs for 'go away.' See these phrases plentifully illustrated in Zupitza's notes to Guy of Warwick, l. 3097.

B. 124. After all, this line is probably merely a reproduction from Le Roman de la Rose, l. 10438:--

'Tu n'a pas geté ambesas.'

B. 1983. The phrase in toune is, as I have said, practically otiose, and means nothing, being merely introduced as a tag. So again in londe, in l. 2077. For further illustrations see Zupitza's notes to Guy of Warwick, l. 5841. [494]

B. 3917. A correspondent kindly reminds me that the story of Cyrus in Vincent of Beauvais came originally from Herodotus, who tells it, not of Cyrus, but of Polycrates of Samos; see Herodotus, bk. iii. capp. 124, 125. In Herodotus, the vision is seen by the daughter.

C. 406. In the long note at pp. 272-274, I have shewn that the sense is 'though their souls go a-gathering blackberries,' i. e. wander wherever they please. Mr. E.M. Spence suggests for comparison the well-known words of Falstaff (1 Hen. IV. ii. 4. 448):--'Shall the blessed sun of heaven prove a micher and eat blackberries?'

C. 570. In the Accounts of Henry, Earl of Derby, on his return from Prussia in 1391, the following item occurs for March:--'Et per manus eiusdem pro ij barrellis ferreres [vessels for carrying wine on horseback] vini de Lepe, viz. lj stope per ipsum emptis ibidem, ij nobles'; printed for the Camden Society, ed. L. Toulmin Smith, p. 95. Miss Toulmin Smith quotes from Henderson's History of Wines, 1824, the note that Lepe wine is 'a strong white wine of Spain,' and that Lepe is 'a small town on the sea-coast, between Ayamont and Palos, long celebrated for figs, raisins, and wine.' Its position was favourable, as it is in the part of Andalucia nearest to England. See Lepe in Pinero's Spanish Dictionary, ed. 1740.

D. 110. The word fore occurs also, but with the Southern spelling vore, in P. Plowman, C. vii. 118; on which see my note.

D. 325. At line 180 above (see the note), the Wife is plainly alluding to one of the passages in Le Roman de la Rose in which the Almageste is mentioned; and I have no doubt that she here refers to the other (l. 18772). For though the passage quoted by Jean de Meun, as from the Almagest, is really quite different, there is a general reference, in the context, to the idea of contentment:--

'Car soffisance fait richece,' &c.

And just below:--

'Cil qui nous escrit l'Almageste.'

F. 226. Many examples are given in Godefroy of the use of Fr. maistre with the adjectival sense of 'principal' or 'chief.' Thus we find la mestre yglise, la mestre tor, la maistre rue, la maistre cité, la maistre tente. See Maister in the Glossarial Index.

F. 233. Tyrwhitt remarks that a 'treatise on Perspective, under his name [i. e. of Aristotle], is mentioned by Vincent of Beauvais, in the thirteenth century (Speculum Historiale, lib. iii. c. 84):--"Extat etiam liber, qui dicitur Perspectiva Aristotelis."' See the word Aristotle in Tyrwhitt's Glossary to Chaucer.

* * * * *

[495]

INDEX TO SUBJECTS AND WORDS EXPLAINED IN THE NOTES.

The subjects discussed are in roman type; the words explained in italics. The references are to volume and page.

a (in), vol. v. p. 423. a (one), i. 565. a certein, iii. 352. a twenty, iii. 337. a twenty devil way, iii. 339. a-begged, to goon, v. 400. able, i. 457. aboute, v. 62. abrayd, i. 469; iii. 248. Absalom, iii. 298. abye, v. 420; abyen it, 192. Accentuation, iii. 289; v. 61 (l. 861). accioun, i. 453. Achilles, treachery of, ii. 503. Actium, battle of, iii. 311-312. Active and Contemplative Philosophy, ii. 420. adamant, i. 511. adj. pl. in -es or -s; ii. 436 (m 2. 19); v. 204, 389, 448. Admetus, ii. 465. advócat, i. 455; advocaas, pl., v. 265. Æetes, iii. 326. Ægeus, iii. 335, 339. Ægyptus, iii. 346-7. Ælla, king, v. 156. Æmilia, via, v. 343. Æneas, iii. 317-324. Æson, iii. 325. Æsop's Fables, v. 123, 309, 310. a-fere, ii. 463. affyle, v. 57. afounde, i. 550. Agatho, iii. 309. agayns, go, v. 348. ageyn him, v. 162. agreables, ii. 436. agryse, v. 264; agroos, iii. 316; agrisen, ii. 435. agroted, iii. 345. aketoun, v. 195. akornes, ii. 448. al, although, i. 454, 554; v. 427. al and som, v. 92. al to-rente, v. 229. alambik, ii. 488. alaunts, v. 85. Albification, v. 425. Albioun, i. 564. Alcathoe, iii. 334. Alcestis, ii. 502; iii. 308, 309; v. 140. Alchabitius, i. 499, 500. Alcyone, i. 464. Aldebaran, iii. 358. alder, gen. pl., iii. 300. alder-best, v. 57. alderman, v. 36 (l. 372). Aldiran, v. 380. alemandres, i. 428. ale-stake, v. 54, 268-9. Alexander, v. 244; -- carried aloft, iii. 262; -- and the pirate, v. 441. Alexandria, v. 6. Alexandryn, i. 420. aleys, i. 428. Algezir, v. 7. Algomeisa, iii. 358. Algus, i. 475. Alhabor, iii. 361. Alhazen, v. 378. alle, at, i. 497. alle and some, v. 148. allegeaunce, i. 431. aller, our, v. 58. alles-kinnes, iii. 279. Alliteration, v. 446. Alma redemptoris, v. 177-178. Almagest, iii. 354; v. 97, 295-6. alpes, i. 421. Amalgaming, v. 423. Amazons, v. 61. ambes as, v. 143. Ambrose, St., v. 409. ameled, i. 425. amendes, his, v. 223. amerciment, v. 468. amonges, ii. 428. amorettes, i. 423, 438. Amphiaraus, i. 532, 533. amphibologyes, ii. 493. Amyas (a mistake), i. 435. an hunting, iii. 322. Anaxarchus, ii. 433. Andromache's dream, v. 254. Angelus ad virginem, v. 97-8. Anger, v. 462. Angle, in astrology, v. 150; -- meridional, v. 379-80. anientissed, v. 211. [496] a-night, v. 428. anlas, v. 34-5. Anna, St., v. 157, 329, 405. annueleer, v. 429. anoyeth, v. 203. Antenor, ii. 486. Anthony, Life of St., v. 20; -- fire of, 460. Anticlaudianus, iii. 264. Antiochus, v. 244. antiphoner, v. 178. Antony, iii. 311-4. aornement, v. 460. apayd, evel, iii. 293. ape, v. 430. Ape in one's hood, v. 174. Apelles, v. 261, 303-4. Apollonius of Tyre, v. 140. appalled, v. 382. apparaunte, i. 417. Appian Way, v. 407. apposed, opposed, v. 411. approwours, v. 324. Apulia, v. 375-6. apyked, v. 36. Arabic numerals, i. 475. arace, i. 566. arblasters, i. 436. Arcite, i. 529. arest, v. 89. areste, iii. 305. arette, v. 57. argoile, v. 426. argument, iii. 367 (l. 44). Argus (the argonaut), iii. 326. Argus the hundred-eyed, ii. 493. Ariadne, iii. 252, 333-40; -- in Naxos, i. 566. Aries, qualities of, v. 373; -- sun in, 372. Arion, iii. 267. Aristotle, iii. 296, 305. ark (of the day), v. 132, 361. Arming of knights, v. 195. armipotent, v. 78, 79. Arnoldus de Villa Nova, v. 432. Arsemius, v. 162. Arsenic, v. 424. artelleries, v. 214. artow, v. 142. Arviragus, v. 389. aryve, v. 8. as, with imperative, v. 160, 163, 342. as, short for al-so, v. 289. ascaunce, v. 427; ascaunces, v. 332-3, 463. ascendent, iii. 271, 272; v. 40, 150, 152, 306. Ascension, right, iii. 362-363. ascry, ii. 470. Ashes, old, v. 114. Asie, v. 175. asp (aspen), i. 512. Aspect (in astrology), i. 497; v. 65. Ass and harp, ii. 422. assege, ii. 485. Assembly of Ladies, iii. 297. Assonance (in Troilus, ii. 884); ii. 471. assyse, i. 454. Astrolabe, v. 97, 134. Astrology, v. 96-7; 147-152; v. 40, 310. Astronomy, old, v. 149; -- system of, ii. 421, 425, 446. at yë, iii. 253, 294; v. 94. at-after, v. 172, 363. atake, wel, v. 325. Atalanta, i. 514, 515. Atazir, v. 150-1. atempre, iii. 294. Atiteris, iii. 269. Atlas, iii. 265. Attalia, v. 8. attamed, v. 248. atte, v. 5, 135, 283; -- nale, 324. attempree, v. 203. Attila, death of, v. 281. attricioun, ii. 465. auctoritee, v. 291, 322. augrim-stones, v. 97. Augury, v. 464. Augustine, St., v. 263. Aurelius, v. 389. Aurelius, Marcus, v. 414. Aurora (by P. de Riga), i. 492, 493. Austin, St., v. 22, 23. Austin friars, i. 450. Avarice, v. 468-9. avauntour, v. 457. Ave Marie, v. 176. aventaille, v. 352. Avicenna, v. 289. avow, to make, v. 286-7. avowe, i. 466. avoy, v. 251. avyse us, v. 157; -- you, 345. awhaped, i. 536; ii. 463. awmere (no such word), i. 432. Ayas, v. 8. Azimuth (etymology of), iii. 357. azure, i. 538.

babewinnes, iii. 267. bacheler, v. 9. Bagpipes, v. 49, 116. bak, v. 428. bakbyting, v. 462. Baked meats, v. 33. Balade, iii. 306. baldric, v. 13. bale, (Gamelyn), v. 478. balke, v. 116. barbe, ii. 468, 469. barre, iii. 322 (l. 1200); barres, v. 32. barringe, v. 459. basilicok, v. 470. Basket-making by apostles, v. 274. baskett-es, v. 274. Bath, Wife of, v. 43. Bayard, blind, v. 431. [497] Beard, making a, iii. 258; to trim his, v. 124; forked beards, v. 29; yellow beards, 185. become, iii. 339. bede, pt. s. subj., i. 423. bedes, payre of, v. 18. Bees, i. 519. bees, been, pl., v. 368. beet, pt. s., i. 418. beggar, i. 448, 449. Begging by friars, v. 274-5. Beguins, Begards, i. 448, 449; Beguines, 446. behelde = beholde, i. 533-4. bel-amy, v. 268. bele, v. 173. Belial, meaning of, v. 471. Belinous, iii. 272. Bell before a corpse, v. 286; bells on horses, v. 20, 247; -- of a clock, i. 495. Belshazzar, v. 234. bely (bellows), v. 453-4. bendinge, v. 459. benedicite, v. 166; ben'cite, ii. 466 (l. 780); v. 84, 166, 326, 418. Benet, St., v. 21. Benmarin, v. 7. bere the belle, ii. 476. Bernabo Visconti, v. 240-241. Bernard, St., iii. 89; v. 402-3. berth on hond, v. 157. besaunt, i. 426. besette, iii. 346 (l. 2558). beshende, iii. 350. beste, with the, v. 492. bet; see go. bete, v., v. 459. Bevis, Sir, v. 193, 199. bicched bones, v. 285. bigamye, v. 292. bigonne, v. 413; -- the bord, v. 6. bigoon, bigo, i. 420, 421. Bill (of a bird), iii. 261. bille, i. 455, 460. Birds, various, i. 517. biseken, bisechen, v. 63. bisemare, v. 119. bisette, v. 30. biseye, v. 349. bit (for biddeth), v. 22. bitrent, ii. 481, 490. bitter swete, v. 427-8. blakeberied, a, v. 272-3. blank-manger, v. 38. Blean Forest, v. 416. blere his yë, v. 113, 421, 441. blewe, i. 496. bleynte, v. 65. Blue, meaning of, i. 538, 565; v. 386. Boar's head at Christmas, v. 393. Bob-up-and-down, v. 435. boës (behoves), v. 122. Boethius, v. 255; -- on music, 256. boght agayn, v. 278. bole, v. 423-4. Bologna, v. 347. bolt-upright, v. 173. Boötes, ii. 450; v. 83. Boots, tight-fitting, v. 24. bord, v. 6. borel, v. 225; burel, 335. borken, ii. 426. borneth, ii. 463. borwe, to, i. 496; iii. 338; v. 385. bost, iii. 317. bote and bale (Gam.), v. 478. botel hay, v. 436. boteler, iii. 256. botoun, i. 430. Boulogne, pilgrims to, v. 44. boun, v. 399. bourdon, v. 55. boydekins, v. 245. bracer, v. 12. Bradwardine, v. 255. bragot, v. 100. brasil, v. 258. brayd, iii. 321-2. Bread for horses, v. 16. brede, iii. 269. Bret, iii. 267. bretful, iii. 286; v. 56. breyd-e, v. 313. Bridles, v. 381. brige, v. 222. brimstoon, v. 424. brocages, i. 446 (l. 6971); brocage, v. 104. broche, v. 18. broken, iii. 327. broken harm, v. 357. brokkinge, v. 104. Bromholm, v. 126. brotelnesse, i. 565. Brothers, sworn, v. 66. brouke, iii. 250 (l. 273); v. 256, 483. Bruges, v. 168. Brut, i. 564. Brutus Cassius, v. 245. brybe, v. 131. bryberyes, v. 324. Buck, names of the, i. 475. Bucklers, v. 12, 480. buf, v. 335-6. bulles, v. 269. bumbleth, v. 317-8. burel, v. 335; borel, 225. buriels, v. 407. Burnell the Ass, v. 256. burnet, i. 418. Busiris, v. 232; Busirides, ii. 433. by, v. 429. by and by, v. 64. by me (rimes with tyme), v. 430. by'r (by our), i. 477. Byblis, i. 515.

cadence, iii. 257. cake, v. 126, 269. Calchas, ii. 462. Calcination, v. 423. calendar, iii. 309, 310. Calendars, i. 454. calendes, ii. 468. [498] caleweys, i. 447. calle (caul), v. 318. Callisto, i. 514; v. 83. Calydonian boar-hunt, ii. 501. Calypso, iii. 272. Cambinskan, v. 371. Campaneus (Capaneus); i. 533; v. 63. camus, v. 117. Canace, iii. 299; v. 140. Cananee, v. 404. Candace, i. 513, 565. canel-boon, i. 484. Canius, or Canus, ii. 422, 424. cankedort, ii. 473, 474. Canon (by Avicenna), v. 289. Canons, v. 416. Canterbury, archbp. of, v. 258. Capaneus, i. 533; v. 63. cape (gape), ii. 500; v. 112. cappe, hir aller, v. 50. capul, v. 124. Caracalla, ii. 439. carbuncle, iii. 275; v. 196. cardiacle, v. 267. cariage, v. 468; upon --, 329. carl, v. 47. Carmelites, v. 339. carole, i. 422, 484. Carrenare, i. 487. carrik, v. 330. Carving, v. 10. Cassandra's lament, i. 494. Cassiodorus, ii. 423, 424. Castel, long, v. 490. Castles in Spain, i. 433. Catalonia, iii. 270, 271. caterwawed, a, v. 300. Caucasus, v. 320. cause causinge, ii. 490. cause why, v. 369. cave, i. 499. caynard, v. 298. Cecilia, St., v. 402; -- church of, v. 414; -- life of, iii. 308; -- meaning of the name, v. 405. ceint, v. 32. celle (for selle), v. 112. celle fantastik, v. 69. Cells, v. 20, 21; -- of the brain, 69. cenith, iii. 357. Centaurs, the, v. 232. Centaury, v. 252. centre, v. 371; -- (on a Rete), iii. 358 (l. 7); v. 394. cered pokets, v. 425. cerial, v. 87. ceriously, v. 146-7. ceruce, v. 53. cetewale, v. 97. Ceyx and Alcyone, v. 137. chalons, v. 125. chamail (camel), v. 352. champioun, v. 27. Chantecleer, v. 249. Chantries, v. 46. Chapes, v. 36. Chaplains, v. 340. charge, iii. 259. Charity, St., v. 339. Charms, v. 464; -- and spells, 105-6. Chaucer, genuine lines by, v. 292-3. Chaucer's appearance, i. 557; v. 182; -- his mistakes, ii. xxiv; v. 203, 214, 219; -- his occupations, iii. 257; -- his translation of Boethius, iii. 307; -- his wife, iii. 256. Chauntepleure, i. 537. Cheapside, shows in, v. 129. cheep (cheap), v. 483. cheest (chooses), i. 524. cheklatoun, v. 186. chelaundre, i. 418. cherisaunce (no such word), i. 434. Cherry-fair, ii. 505. cherubinnes face, v. 52. Chess invented, i. 480; chess-pieces, i. 481, 482; chess, v. 389. cheste, v. 288. chevauche, i. 501; v. 438. chevesaile, i. 425. chevisaunce, iii. 345; v. 30, 173. Chichevache, v. 351-2. child, v. 193. chilindre, v. 170-1. chimbe, v. 114. chinche, v. 220. chirche-hawes, v. 469. chirkinge, ii. 426; v. 80, 464. Chiron, iii. 267. chisels, v. 459. chivachee, v. 438; i. 501. chivachye, v. 10. choppen, iii. 282. Chorus, iii. 344. Chough, the, i. 518. Christ's members (in oaths), v. 275-6. Christmas, poor at, v. 144. Christopher, St., v. 12, 13. Chrysippus, v. 309. Church-building, v. 336. Church-door, marriage at the, v. 44. chydester, v. 358. Cicero, v. 387; -- his Somnium Scipionis, v. 254. ciclatoun, v. 185. cipress, v. 198. Cipryde, i. 514. Circe, iii. 272. citizein, iii. 264 (l. 986). Cirrea, i. 531. citrinacioun, v. 426. claperes, i. 428. clappen as a mille, v. 457. Clara, St., iii. 266. clarree, ii. 432; v. 70. Claudian, iii. 279, 302. clawe, v. 317. Cleopatra, iii. 310-4. [499] clergeon, v. 176. Clerk, duties of a, v. 103; the Clerk, 30-1. clew, iii. 280 (l. 1702). cliket, v. 364-5. Climates, latitudes of, iii. 365-6. clom, v. 108. clote-leef, v. 417. Cloth-making, v. 43. cloutes, v. 270. clowe-gilofre, v. 188. Cock, the, i. 519; -- as astrologer, ii. 482; Cock-crow, v. 108, 250. cogge, iii. 327. cok, cry, v. 256. cokenay, v. 125. Colchis, iii. 325. cold (fatal), v. 255. col-fox, v. 255. Collatinus, iii. 331. Colle, iii. 273. Collect and Expanse years, iii. 367. Cologne, pilgrims to, v. 44. colour, i. 563. Colours, meaning of, i. 534, 538, 565. coltes tooth, v. 306. com of, ii. 473; v. 110. com-ba-me, v. 109. combre-world, ii. 487. combust, ii. 478; iii. 362. come, s., v. 410. comeveden, ii. 475. Commandments, the ten, v. 283-4. compas, iii. 260. Compass, points of the, iii. 364 (§ 31. 6). Complaints, v. 395. Complexions, the four, iii. 247; v. 32-3, 41. Compostella, pilgrims to, v. 44. comprende, ii. 483; v. 377. condicioun, iii. 290. condys, pl., i. 428. conning, iii. 292. Conscience, worm of, v. 264. consecrat, v. 229. conseil, v. 289, 407. Constantine, v. 362. contenaunce, v. 205. contre-houses, i. 532. contubernial, v. 469. contumax, v. 457. Convent of thirteen, v. 341. convers, in, ii. 505. cope, v. 29. coppe, withouten, v. 389-90. corage, taketh his, i. 417. Coral, buildings of, v. 77. corbets, iii. 274. Cormorant, the, i. 520. cornes, v. 229, 230. corniculere, v. 411. corny, v. 268. corollary, ii. 442. Corona Borealis, iii. 340. corseynt, iii. 248. cost (coast), v. 316. costlewe, v. 458. costrel, iii. 550. cote-armures, v. 64, 196. counterwayte, v. 213, 473. countour, v. 35. court, v. 340. courtepy, v. 31 (l. 290). covent, v. 180. covercle, iii. 260. covyne, v. 51. cow is wood, v. 297. crampisshe, i. 535. Crane, the, i. 518. Crassus, ii. 481. creant, v. 467. Creation, date of the, v. 255. crece, i. 438. Creusa, iii. 330. crinkled, iii. 336. Criseyde, for Briseida, ii. 426; -- her mother, 489 (l. 762). croce, v. 303. Croesus, iii. 248; v. 246. croppes, v. 2. Crosiers, v. 323. Cross, finding of the, v. 290; hymn to the --, 155; sign of the --, 155. Crow, the, i. 520, 521. Crow's feet, ii. 469. crowding, v. 149, 150. crowne, v. 173. crulle, v. 10. cucurbites, v. 424. cukkow, v. 441. Curfew-time, v. 108. cut (lot), v. 59; draw cuts, 289. Cuthbert, St., v. 124. cutted, iii. 318; v. 459. Cybele, iii. 309. Cyllenius, i. 498.

dagges, i. 449; dagginge, v. 459. dagon, v. 333. daliaunce, v. 25. Dalida, i. 565; v. 230. Damascus, v. 228. Damocles, story of, ii. 439; v. 82. Dan, v. 225. Danaus, iii. 346. Dante, mentioned, v. 242. Daphne, v. 83. dare, v. 169. Dares Frigius, i. 489, 490; iii. 326. darked, iii. 316. darreyne, v. 73. Dart, prize for running, v. 293. Dartmouth, v. 38. Date of the pilgrimage, v. 132-3. Daun, v. 168. daunce, the olde, ii. 478; v. 45. Daunger, iii. 295. [500] daunger, in, v. 54; -- with, 304. daungerous, v. 46. dawes, v. 392. day, his (Gam.), v. 478. day natural, i. 499; v. 374. daysyes, iii. 291. Deadly Sins, Seven, i. 453; v. 455. decoped, i. 423. Deficient lines, v. 314-5, 330-1. defouled, v. 451. degrees (steps), v. 77. degyse, v. 458; degysinge, 460. deliver, v. 10. Delphos, v. 391. delye, ii. 420. Demophoon, iii. 252, 344. Denis, St., v. 168, 170. depardieux, v. 135-6. Deptford, v. 115. derk, i. 500. derring-do (Spenser), ii. 498. desespeired, i. 527. deslavee, v. 466. despitous, v. 457. desray, v. 472. devel way, v. 95, 110. deye, s., v. 249. deye, dye, v., v. 156. deyntee, v. 20. deys, v. 36, 373. diapred, v. 85. Dictys, i. 490. Dido, iii. 317-24. digne, v. 119. Diomede described, ii. 498. disioint, iii. 329. dismal, i. 493, 494. disputisoun, v. 357. distoned, i. 436. distraught, v. 169. distreyneth, v. 211. divisioun, i. 504. divynailes, v. 464. do wey, v. 493. dogge for the bowe, v. 325, 364. Dogs as pets, v. 16, (l. 146). Dolphin, the constellation, iii. 265. dolven and deed, i. 469. dome, as to my, i. 567. dominacioun, v. 438. Domination, blood in, v. 382. don make, hath, v. 345. Dorothea, St., v. 402, 409. doucettes, iii. 268. dragges, v. 41. Dragon's Tail, iii. 361. dragoun, v. 433. Drake, the, i. 520. drasty, v. 201. draught, i. 479. Dreams, i. 509: ii. 497; iii. 246. drede, withouten, v. 400. dredful, iii. 316. dresse, v. 350. dreynt-e, def. adj., i. 469; v. 140. droghte, v. 2. Drunk as a mouse, v. 68, 298. Dry sea, the, i. 486, 487. Dryden on Chaucer, v. 100. dryve away, i. 463; v. 283; dryve forth, ii. 467. Du Gueschlin, v. 238-9. duetee, v. 324. dulcarnon, ii. 479, 480. Dun in the mire, v. 435-6. Dunmow flitch, v. 296. durring don, ii. 498. dyte, i. 568.

-e, i. the fem. adj., iii. 347. Eagle, the, i. 517. Eclipse, lunar, ii. 450. Ecliptic, obliquity of the, iii. 354. Eclympasteyre, i. 468. -ed, for A. S. -að, -oð, v. 273. Edward, St., v. 226. eek, eke, v. 137. Eels slippery, iii. 286, 287. eftures (a ghost-word), iii. 332. eggement, v. 160. egrimoine, v. 425. Egyptian days, i. 493. eightetene, v. 133. Eilers, Dr., quoted, v. 456. Ekko, v. 390. Eleatici, ii. 420. Election, in astrology, v. 151-2. Elements, the four, ii. 441; iii. 259, 261; v. 41, 68, 434. elenge, v. 172, 321. Eliachim, v. 243. Eligius, St., v. 14. elf, v. 159. elf-queen, v. 189, 314. elvish, v. 182-3. embosed, i. 472. embrouded, v. 10. Emelye, i. 532. emforth, iii. 338. enbibing, v. 426. endentinge, v. 458. engreggen, v. 473. enluting, v. 422. entaile, i. 425. entendeden, iii. 321. entremees, i. 446. Envoy, iii. 306. Envy, v. 461-2. envye, to, i. 468. envyen, iii. 270. envyned, v. 33. Ephesus, widow of, v. 312. Epicurus, v. 33. episicle, iii. 364. equacions, v. 394. [501] erchedeken, v. 323, 493. Eriphyle, v. 311. erme, i. 465; v. 267. Erymanthian boar, ii. 454. eschu, adj., v. 362. eschue, ger., v. 401. esed, v. 4. espiaille, v. 213. espirituels, v. 448. essoyne, v. 450. Esther, iii. 298. estres iii. 331-2; v. 78. et, pr. s., iii. 324. Ethics of Aristotle, iii. 296. Etymologies of names, v. 405. Euripus, ii. 428. Europa, iii. 294. Eva, Ave, v. 310. Eve, sone of, v. 404-5. even-cristen, v. 457. ever in oon, i. 458. ew, i. 512. Exaltation (in astrology), v. 310, 366; -- of the moon, v. 445; -- of the sun, 372. Expanse years, iii. 367. expulsif, v. 91, 493. eye, awe (Gam.), v. 482. Eyes, gray, v. 17.

Fable; Lion, Tiger, and Fox, v. 67; -- Man conquering a Lion, 309, 310; -- Wolf and the Mare, 122-3. Face (in astrology), v. 395; -- of Mars, 372. facound, v. 262. fade, i. 419. Fairies, v. 189-90, 314, 364. Fairs, v. 173. Falcon, the, i. 517. falding, v. 38. fan, v. 436. fard, i. 432. Fates, the three, ii. 495. favour, iii. 253. fawe, v. 296. Feast for three days, v. 91. feeldes, v. 63. felawshippe, iii. 318. feldefare, farewel, ii. 479. felle, adj. pl., ii. 464. fen (Arab. fann), v. 289. ferd, pp., ii. 491. ferd, for, ii. 489. ferforth, v. 202. fermentacioun, v. 426. fermerer, v. 334. fermour, iii. 305. fern, ferne yere, v. 379. Fern-ashes, glass from, v. 378. ferne, ii. 434, v. 3. ferre, v. 6. fers, i. 476, 480; ferses, 481. ferthing, v. 16. fet-e, i. 469, 477 (l. 501). fetis, v. 18. fevere, a blaunche, ii. 466. Fieldfare, the, i. 521. fir, sailing, i. 512. Fire, Greek, v. 301. Fish Street, v. 280. Flanders, v. 275. Flat, not edge, ii. 490. fled-de, pp. pl., ii. 464. flekked, v. 417. fleming of wrecches, ii. 480. Flemings slain, v. 257-8. flokmele, v. 344. Florins, v. 288. Flower and Leaf, iii. 293, 297. floytinge, v. 10. fneseth, v. 438. folily, v. 221. Folk-lore; when men's ears glow, ii. 471; itching, v. 109. foo (for foot), v. 111. foot-hot, i. 435; v. 154. foot-mantel, v. 45. for, against, i. 432; iii. 298; to prevent, i. 436, 524; v. 195, 418. for moiste, i. 429. for to, iii. 290. for warping, iii. 365. for wood, iii. 280, 344. forage, v. 113. forbyse, ii. 473. fordrye, v. 383. fore, s., v. 294, 336, 494. foreyne, iii. 335. forget, pr. s., i. 418. forloyn, i. 473. forme-fader, v. 208. formel, i. 521. forneys, v. 48. fors, no, v. 266; no -- of, 252. forshright, ii. 491. forstraught, v. 169. fortened, i. 438. Fortuna maior, ii. 482. forward, v. 5. fostred, v. 414 (l. 539). fot-hoot, i. 473. foudre, iii. 254, 255. foun (fawn), i. 475; see fownes. founde, i. 536. fownes, ii. 464; see foun. foynen, v. 73. Frankeleyn, the, v. 32. frape, ii. 477. fraternitee, v. 36. Fraternity, letters of, v. 339, 340. fraught, v. 145-6. free, i. 453. fremd, iii. 319. French in England, v. 15. Frere, the, v. 24, 25. fret, ii. 297, 298. fret full, i. 437. fretted, i. 449. Friars, orders of, i. 444, 450; v. 24-9, 272, 314. Frideswide, St., v. 105. Friesland, i. 558. fro ye, ii. 461. [502] froit = fruit, iii. 285. frouncen, i. 449. fume, v. 251. Fumitory, v. 252. Funerals, v. 93. furie, v. 390. furlong-wey, iii. 300; v. 346. fyrbrond, v. 360.

gadeling (Gam.), v. 480. galaxye, iii. 263. galentyne, i. 540, 549. Galianes, v. 266. galingale, v. 37. galle, v. 317, 404. galley half-pence, v. 186. game, v. 420, 477. Gaming, v. 282. Ganelon, v. 239; Genelon, i. 491; Genilon, v. 170, 255. Gargaphia, v. 90. gargate, v. 257. garisoun, to, i. 434. Garlands, v. 54. gat-tothed, v. 44. gauded, v. 18. gaudy-grene, v. 83-4. Gaunt, John of, i. 476. gauren, v. 375. Gawain, Sir, v. 374. gaytres beryis, v. 252. geen, gone (North.), v. 123. geeth, iii. 338. Geminis, in, v. 366. Gems repel venom, i. 425. Genelon, i. 491; Ganelon, v. 239; Genilon, v. 170, 255. Gengis Khan, v. 371. Genitive, use of (in proper names), v. 376. gentilesse, v. 319. Geoffrey of Monmouth, iii. 278. Geomancy, v. 82. Gerund, use of the, v. 412. gery, v. 72. geste, v. 194, 201, 446; gestes, 377. gestours, v. 194. Giants, v. 191. gib-cat, i. 443. gigginge, v. 88. Giles, St., iii. 264; v. 430. gipoun, v. 9. gipser, v. 35. girles, v. 54. girt, pr. s., i. 498. giterne, v. 102. Glasgerion, iii. 267, 268. Glass-making, v. 378-9. gledy, iii. 294. glood, v. 199. glose, i. 471. Gloves, white, v. 93. Gluttony, v. 469. gnede, i. 442. gnodded, gniden, i. 540. gnof, v. 96. go, iii. 337. go bet, i. 466; iii. 323; v. 286. go walked, v. 334. god be with you, v. 288. god yow see, v. 287. goddes kechil, v. 333. gode man, v. 334. godsibbes, v. 471. Gold, red, v. 196, 306; -- a remedy, 42. golde (flower), v. 77. golee, i. 523. goliardeys, v. 48-9. gonne, iii. 312. good man, iii. 325. good' men, v. 290. Good Women, v. 137-8. goon a-caterwawed, v. 300. Goose, the, i. 519. goosish, ii. 477. gore, v. 98-9, 102; under my --, 190. Gospel of the Holy Ghost, i. 447, 448. Gospels, copies of the, v. 157-8. goune-cloth, v. 341. governeresse, i. 456. Gower, moral, ii. 505; -- quoted, i. 485; -- his tale of Constaunce, v. 145. grace, to stonde in, v. 431. grange, v. 108. Graunson, Sir Otes de, i. 559, 562. grayn, in, v. 185, 384. gree, v. 91. Green, for inconstancy, i. 565, 566. Greenwich, v. 115. grete, the, iii. 310. grete see, v. 8. greves, iii. 298. greyn, v. 109. greyn, in, v. 185, 384. greyn of Portingale, v. 259. grille, i. 418. grisel, i. 557. groyn, v. 450. groyning, v. 88. gruf, v. 63. grys, v. 23. Guido delle Colonne, i. 489, 490, 491; iii. 318, 324, 328. Guilds, v. 36. Gundulfus, v. 256-7. Guy, Sir, v. 199. Gyndes, v. 338. gytes, v. 118, 305.

haberdassher, v. 35. habergeoun, v. 9. habitacles, iii. 267. Hailes, Blood of, v. 284. hainselins, v. 459. Hair, yellow, v. 65. haire, i. 419. halcyon, i. 464. half-goddes, iii. 305. halse, v. 180. halvendel (Gam.), v. 482. halwes, v. 3; seketh --, iii. 323. [503] hande-brede, v. 111. Harbledown, v. 435. hardy, iii. 327. harlot, v. 53. harlotrye, v. 49. harlots, king of, i. 442. harneised, v. 12. harneys, v. 64. Harpies, the, ii. 453. harre, v. 48. harrow, v. 101, 253, 264. Harrowing of hell, v. 107. Harry Bailly, v. 129. hasard, v. 282. Hasdrubal's wife, v. 257. hath (for is), v. 381. haubergeons, v. 474. hauberk, v. 195-6. haunteden, v. 275. hautein, iii. 321 (l. 1120). hawe bake, v. 141. hayt! v. 328. Hazard, game of, v. 143, 285. Head-dresses, v. 43. hed (Kentish), iii. 297. heef, ii. 420. heigh and lowe, in, v. 58. helde, v. 299. Helicon, iii. 254. Hellebore, v. 252. Heloise, v. 309. hende, v. 97. hente, iii. 255. herber, iii. 296, 297. herberwe, v. 390 (l. 1033). Herbs, virtues of, v. 375. Hercules, labours of, v. 231-2; -- pillars of, 233. here (her), v. 407. here and howne, ii. 486. Herenus, i. 460; ii. 484. Herines (Furies), ii. 484. heritage, gen., i. 460. Hermengild, v. 156. Hermes, v. 432. Hermes Ballenus, iii. 272. Hero, iii. 299. Heron, the, i. 518. heronere, iii. 321. heronsew, v. 373. Herostratus, iii. 283. herse, i. 458. hert-e, iii. 292. Hesperides, the, ii. 454. heterly, iii. 312. hethen (hence), v. 122. hethenesse, v. 6. hething, s., v. 124. hette, i. 503. heyne, v. 430-1. heyre, an, v. 406. hight, i. 460. him and here, v. 155. Hippolytus, iii. 338. hit, pr. s., v. 384. hit am I, iii. 300. ho, v. 74. Hoccleve, iii. 307; v. 433. hochepot, v. 212. hoker, v. 119. hold, in, v. 250. Holderness, v. 331. holm, i. 512. Holofernes, v. 161. Homage, form of, i. 431. Homer, ii. 462. homicide, v. 463. hond, holde in, iii. 258. honestetee, v. 460. Hood, the Canon's, v. 417. Hood, game in one's, iii. 282. Hoodless, to go, i. 486. hool and sound, v. 204. hoomly, v. 360. hope, v., v. 122. hoppesteres, v. 80. Horn, lay of, v. 198. Horoscopes, v. 147, 152, 392. horowe, i. 503. hors, pl., v. 8. Horse of brass, v. 374. hose, v. 421. Host, the, v. 58. hostes man, v. 333. hostler, v. 4 (l. 23); hostiler, 460. hoten, v. 294-5. hottes, iii. 284. houndfish, v. 362. houped, v. 258. Hours of the clock, v. 250; planetary hours, 86, 97; unequal hours, 86. House with two rooms, v. 249. House (in astrology), ii. 470; v. 150; celestial houses, iii. 361, 365. House of Fame, argument of, iii. 243. hoven, iii. 322. Hugh of Lincoln, v. 181. humble bed, v. 244. Humours, four, v. 69, 251. hunte, v. 74. hunteresse, iii. 318. hunting, an, iii. 322. hurtlen, iii. 312. Hypermnestra, iii. 346-351. Hypsipyle, iii. 324-8.

Idols, sacrifice to, v. 411. ignotum per ignotius, v. 434. Ilioun, i. 494; iii. 249, 250, 318. Images as charms, iii. 271. impes, v. 225. in (for into), iii. 251. in manus tuas, v. 126. incubus, v. 315. inde, i. 418. Innocent III., On Human Misery, iii. 307. inobedient, v. 457. interesse, i. 547. intervalle, v. 218. in-with, iii. 293; v. 179-180. ipocras, v. 361. ipocrite, v. 457. Irish (not irous), i. 435. Isis, iii. 283. Isoude, i. 515; iii. 282, 299. [504] it am I, v. 74, 164; it ben, 486. Itching (in folk-lore), v. 109. Ive, St., v. 172.

Jack (a fool), v. 109. Jack of Dover, v. 128. Jack Straw, v. 257-8. Jacobin, i. 450. Jaconites, iii. 329. iagounce, i. 426. Iambeux, v. 196. James, St., v. 44, 483. Jane, v. 186. Janus, v. 393. Jay, the, i. 518; -- its talking, v. 53. je vous dy, v. 334. Jephtha, v. 264. Jerome against Jovinian, iii. 302. Iesu (not Jhesu), v. 179. Iet, the newe, v. 55. ieupardies, i. 481. Iewerye, v. 175. Jews, feeling against the, v. 178-9; Jews' work, 196. io = jo, ii. 476. Joce, St., v. 303. jogelour, iii. 271, 327; v. 377. John, a name of contempt, v. 166, 248. Iolitee, v. 193. Jonathan, iii. 298. Josephus, iii. 276. Iossa, v. 124. iouken, ii. 497. Ioves, iii. 256. Jovinian, v. 335. Jubilee, v. 334. Julian, St., iii. 265; v. 33. Julius Cæsar, v. 244. Juniper, v. 462-3. Iupartye, v. 421.

kalender, iii. 309-10. Kay, Sir, i. 432. Kayr-rud, v. 389. kechil, v. 333. kempe heres, v. 84. ken = kin, i. 475. Kenelm, St., v. 254. Kentish forms, v. 59 (l. 828). kepe, s., iii. 319. kept, don you, v. 351 (l. 1098). Kerchiefs, v. 43. kernels, i. 336. kers (curse!), v. 248. kike, v. 317. kimelin, v. 107. King's Hall, v. 119-20. King's note, v. 98. kinnes, alles, iii. 279. kirked, i. 433, 434. Kite (bird), v. 386. kk, written as lk, i. 425. knarre, v. 48. knave child, v. 158, 347. Knight, v. 5; -- of the shire, 34; Knightes Tale, chronology of the, 75. knight, goddes, v. 410. Knives for women, v. 27. Kyte, the, i. 519.

labbe, v. 107. lacche, i. 429. lace, i. 561. Ladder, parts of a, v. 108. Ladies, nineteen, ii. 310; v. 137-8. lady, gen., v. 10. lake, (linen), v. 195. lakkest, (Gam.), v. 482-3. Lamech, i. 534; v. 293, 384. lampe, v. 422. Laodamia, iii. 299. Laomedon, ii. 486. Lapidaire, iii. 274. Lapwing, the, i. 518. largesse, iii. 274; v. 469. last (weight), v. 174. laten blood, v. 128. lathe, v. 124. Latitude (of places), v. 134 latoun, v. 56, 99-100, 270-1, 393. latrede, v. 467. lauds, v. 108. launcegay, v. 187. laurel, i. 512. lause, ii. 431. laved out, ii. 445; laven, 450. lavender, iii. 303, 304. layneres, v. 88. Lays, Breton, v. 87. lazar, v. 27. ledene, v. 383. leed, v. 24. leed, whippe of, v. 412. leefsel, v. 458; levesel, 123. leek, a, v. 424. leet don cryen, v. 372. Legend of Good Women, v. 137. lemman, v. 441. Lemnos, iii. 326-7. Lemuel, king, v. 282. Leo, v. 380, 390-1. Leonard, St., iii. 249. Lepe, v. 280, 494. lese, ii. 471. let (leadeth), v. 172. lette, pt. s., iii. 339. letted, v. 216. Lettow, v. 7. lettres, lettre, v. 159. letuaries, v. 41. leve, various senses of, iii. 288; leve, v. 330; leue, lene, iii. 337; v. 181. lever, him were, v. 399. lever, I have, v. 399. levesel, v. 123; leefsel, 458. -lewe (suffix), v. 458. lewed, iii. 261; v. 46. leyt, v. 472. Lia (Leah), v. 405-6. liard, v. 328. Libeux, v. 199. licentiat, v. 26. [505] Light from a lantern, v. 300. lighte, v., v. 382; pt. s., 175. light-for-somer, i. 566. like, v., v. 317. lilting-horn, iii. 269 (l. 1223). Lily (of St. Mary), v. 174. limaille, v. 427. limitour, v. 25, 314. Linian, v. 342. Lion, the sign of the, ii. 485; -- of Hercules, 485. Lion, Book of the, v. 475. lisse, i. 488, 489. list (ear), v. 307. listes (lists), v. 76. listeth, v. 184. litheth (Gam.), v. 477. liveree, v. 36. Livia, v. 311. lixt, v. 329. lodemenage, v. 39. lodesmen, iii. 327. loigne, i. 435. loller, v. 166-7. Lombards, v. 173. Lombardy horses, v. 375. long castell (i. e. Lancaster; the note is wrong), i. 495; v. 490. Longitudes of towns, iii. 366. Longius, i. 457. loos, los, iii. 327. lordinges, v. 134. lost, sb., ii. 431. lotinge, v. 407-8. loude and stille, i. 435. louke, v. 130. Love, chain of, v. 93; Court of --, 319; Love the ruler, ii. 435 (m 8. 10). lovedayes, iii. 258; v. 28-9. love-drury, v. 198. Lovers are lean, i. 548. Lowis Chaucer, iii. 352. Loy, St., v. 13, 14, 328. Lucan, v. 245, 279. Lucia, or Lucilia, v. 312. Lucifer, v. 227-8. Lucretia, iii. 330-3. luna, v. 433. lunarie, v. 425. Lure for a hawk, v. 439. lussheburghes, v. 225. lute (clay), v. 422. Lycurgus, v. 84; -- of Thrace, iii. 345. lye, (blaze), v. 320. lyes, iii. 286. Lyeys, v. 7. lyked, iii. 330. lymere, i. 472. Lymote, iii. 273. Lynceus, iii. 346-7; -- or lynx, ii. 440. Lyra, the constellation, iii. 265. lyte, iii. 257. lyve, on (Gam.), v. 478. lyves, iii. 266; v. 348.

m', for me, i. 558; ii. 467 (l. 1050). Macrobeus, i. 470. Madrian, corpus, v. 224. Magdalene, Lamentation of Mary, iii. 308. Magic, v. 40, 378; kinds of, 464. maheym, v. 465-6. Mahoun, v. 147. maister-strete, iii. 335. maister-temple, iii. 319. maister-tour, v. 377, 494. maistresse, v. 382. maistrye, for the, v. 19. make, iii. 292, 293. malefice, v. 453. Malin, v. 126. Malkin, v. 135. malt, pt. s., iii. 262. Malvesye, v. 168. Manciple, the, v. 50. mandements, v. 323. maner (without of), v. 176. Manes, ii. 498. mangerye (Gam.), v. 483. mannish, v. 160, 358. Mansions, in astrology, i. 497; iii. 348. Mantua, iii. 317. mappemonde, i. 549. Marcia Catoun, iii. 299. Marco Polo, v. 370-1. marineer, v. 173. mark, pl., v. 272. mark of Adam, v. 310. market-beter, v. 117. Marriages made by friars, v. 25-6. Mars the red, v. 74; -- described, 82; -- (the planet), i. 496-7; ill influence of --, v. 80-2, 149; iii. 348. Marshal, v. 58. Marsyas, iii. 269, 270. Marte, accus., iii. 341. Martian, iii. 264. Martin, St., v. 170, 478. Mary = bitter, i. 454. Mary of Egypt, St., v. 156. masse-peny, v. 333. Master of Divinity, v. 340. masty, iii. 281. mat, iii. 294; v. 63. Maudelayne (ship), v. 39, 40. maugree thyn heed, v. 142; -- hir heed, 316. maumettrye, v. 148. Mauny, Sir Oliver, v. 238-9. Maur, St., v. 21. Maurice, the emperor, v. 164-5. mavis, i. 421. mawmet, v. 468. Maxim; he who is grieved in one respect, v. 125. May, month of, iii. 290; -- festival, ii. 469, iii. 294; May-day, v. 65, 71. maysondewe, i. 440. [506] me, dative, i. 463; with e elided, i. 458, 477. mea culpa, ii. 469. mede, v. 104. Medea, iii. 272. Medicine, writers on, v. 41-2. Medlar, the, v. 113. medlee cote, v. 32. meinee, v. 160; meynee, iii. 319. Melancholy, v. 251-2. Meleager, ii. 501. men, sing., i. 503, 505, 560; ii. 490; iii. 288; v. 17, 176. mendinants, v. 335. mene, sb., i. 455. menes (means), v. 389; (go-betweens), 104. Mercurie crude, v. 423. Mercury (planet), v. 310; mansion of --, 386-7. Mercy, Works of, v. 473. merier, mery, v. 249. merk, v. 389. Merlin, the, i. 517. mery, meanings of, v. 193. mes, at good, i. 428, 429, 434. message, v. 145, 153, 348. messe, v. 172. Metals and planets, iii. 276; v. 427. Metamorphoseos, v. 141. mewe, v. 34. mewet, ii. 496. meynee, iii. 319; v. 160. micher, i. 445. miches, i. 440. Midas, story of, v. 317. Middelburgh, v. 30. mille, clappeth as a, v. 352. Miller, the, v. 47-9. Minos, iii. 333-4. Minotaur, iii. 334-5. mintinge, ii. 420. Mirror, magic, v. 377. mis, adj., iii. 285. Misenus, iii. 270. misericorde, i. 453. mister, v. 51. misterie, v. 471. mo (others), v. 58, 350. mochel, s., i. 484. mokeren, ii. 431. mone, gender of, iii. 321 (l. 1163). Moon's motion, ii. 494, v. 363; Moon-stations, v. 392, 395; man in the moon, ii. 466-7. moot, pl. sb., i. 473. more (root), ii. 495. more and lesse, v. 349. mormal, v. 37-8. morter, ii. 493. mortificacioun, v. 432. mortrewes, v. 37. morwe, by the, v. 436, 467. mot, v. 481. moulen, v. 135; mowled, 113. Mountain, snow-clad, iii. 266. mourdaunt, i. 425. mowe, v. 452. moysoun, i. 430. moyste, v. 268. Mulberry-tree, iii. 316-7. mullok, v. 428. multiplye, v. 420. Music, patroness of, v. 407. muwis, i. 440.

n', for ne (not), v. 58. Nails (as sworn by), v. 284. naiteth, ii. 419; nayte, v. 473. naked, ii. 454. naker, v. 88-9. namely, v. 272. nat (for ne at), v. 148. natal, ii. 476. Nativities, v. 147, 152. Naxos, iii. 252, 338-9; v. 140. Nazarenus, v. 452. ne (use of), i. 461; v. 58. Nebuchadnezzar, v. 234. nedes cost, iii. 351; v. 71. neesing, v. 438. Negative, double, iii. 288. neighebour, v. 142. neither nother, ii. 457. Nembrot, i. 542. Neot, St., v. 111. ner and ner, v. 178. Neritos, ii. 448. Nettle in, dock out, ii. 488. New year's festival, v. 372. newefangel, v. 385-6, 441. Newgate, procession to, v. 130. nexte, v. 180. Nicholas, St., v. 177. Nicholas of Lynn, iii. 352-3. nightertale, v. 10. Nightingale, the, i. 519. night-spel, v. 105-6. Noah's flood, v. 111-2; -- his wife, 107. Noble (gold), v. 100, 290. nom, inf. (Gam.), v. 488. nones, for the, iii. 300; v. 37, 165; with the --, iii. 286, 328. Nonne, the, v. 19. north contree, v. 326. Northern dialect, v. 121. northern light, v. 79. Northumberland, v. 156. norture (Gam.), v. 477. nos kinnes, iii. 282. not-heed, v. 12. nouncerteyn, i. 561; ii. 463. nounpower, ii. 438. now, v. 180-1. Nowel! v. 393; used to mean Noah, 111-2. Nuns as chaplains, v. 19. [507]

octogamye, v. 292. Octovien, emperor, i. 472, 473. Oedipus, ii. 487. O-ënone (four syllables), ii. 465. Oenopia (Ægina), iii. 338. of al, thank god, v. 234. offring, v. 43. oght (at all), v. 418. oghte us, iii. 289, 290; v. 203. oile of tartre, v. 426. Oise, the river, iii. 284. olifaunt, v. 191. olive, i. 512. oneden to, v. 451. oo (one), v. 408. open ye, v. 3. opposed, v. 411. ord and ende, v. 245. ordal, ii. 480. ore, thyn, v. 110. orfrays, i. 420. organs, v. 406. oriental, iii. 297. Orleans, University at, v. 391-2. orloge, v. 249, 250. Orpheus, iii. 267. Orwell, v. 30. Osanne, v. 405. Ospringe, v. 415. ostelments, ii. 431. oules, v. 332. ounded, ii. 489; oundinge, v. 459. oundy, iii. 275. out of drede, v. 161. outen, v. 304, 369. outherwhyle, v. 219. outlawe, v. 441. outrely, v. 204. out-rydere, v. 19, 20. out-twyne, i. 549. over al, v. 375. over-lippe, v. 16. overskipper, i. 494. oversloppe, v. 418-9. overthwart, v. 79. over-whelveth, ii. 429. Ovid, iii. 279. Owl, the, i. 517. owne hand, his, v. 107. Oxenford, v. 31. Oxford, latitude of, iii. 363; school of --, v. 102.

paas, goon a, v. 289. Padua, v. 342. Palamon and Arcite, iii. 306; v. 60. pale, iii. 282, 283. Pale as ashes, v. 69. palestral, ii. 496. palinge, v. 459. palis, paleis, ii. 422, 426. Palladium, ii. 462, 486. palm (tree), i. 512. palmer, v. 3. Palmyra, v. 235. panade, v. 117. Pandion, iii. 341. panter, iii. 295. paper-whyt, iii. 322. paradise (grains of), i. 428. paramours, iii. 301; v. 84, 103; par amour, v. 67, 493. Pardoner, the, v. 54. Pardons, sale of, v. 272. parements, iii. 320; v. 381. Parnassus, i. 531; iii. 254; v. 387. parodie, ii. 502, 503. Parsley, v. 128. Parson's daughters, v. 118. parsoner, parcener, ii. 459. Partridge-wings, iii. 276. party, a (Gam.), v. 484. parvys, v. 31. Past participle, use of, v. 145-6. patente, v. 269. Paternoster, White, v. 106. Paul's Windows, v. 101. Pavements, v. 339. Pawns, eight (at chess), i. 482. pax, kisse, v. 458. payed (as pt. s.), iii. 325. payndemayn, v. 184-5. Peacock, the, i. 519. Peacock-arrows, v. 11. Pegasee, v. 376. pelet, iii. 280. Pelias, iii. 325. Penelope, i. 490; iii. 298. Penmarch point, v. 388. penner, v. 363. pensel, i. 444; ii. 499. Perceval, Sir, v. 200. peregryn, v. 383. pere-ionette, v. 99. peril, upon my, v. 305. pers, v. 42, 102. Persoun, the, v. 45. perspective, v. 494. Pertelote, v. 250. Pestilences, i. 557; v. 286. Peter! iii. 265; v. 172, 301, 420. Peter of Cyprus, v. 240. Peter of Spain, v. 238. Petrarch, v. 343. Phædra, iii. 336. Pheasant, the, i. 519. Philomela, iii. 340-4. Philosophers should be silent, ii. 434 (l. 95). philosophre, v. 31. Philostrate, v. 70. Philotetes, iii. 326. phitonesse, iii. 271; v. 327. Phitoun, v. 439. Phoenix, i. 485. Phyllis, iii. 252, 344. physices (?), v. 167-8. Pierides, v. 140-1. piëtous, ii. 497; v. 371 (l. 20). pigges-nye, v. 100. Pilate's voice, v. 95. piled, v. 52. piler elm, i. 512. Pilgrimages, v. 4. [508] Pilgrim's Tale, the, v. 313-4. pilled, iii. 323. pilwebeer, v. 56. piment, i. 442; ii. 432. pin, a Ioly, v. 358. pinched, v. 17. Pins given by friars, v. 26-7. piper, i. 512. Pipes, rustic, iii. 269. Pirithous, v. 67. Pisces, sign of, v. 381. pitaunce, v. 26. place, v. 184. Placebo, v. 338, 465; (a name), v. 357-8. plages, v. 156. Planet's ascension, v. 150; influence of --, i. 556, iii. 347, 359; -- and metals, iii. 276, v. 427. See Spheres plate (armour), v. 196. Plato, ii. 459; -- his doctrine of forms, iii. 340. Plays, Miracle, v. 305. platte (flat), v. 375. plentevous, v. 33. pleye, v. 172. Pleyndamour, v. 199. pleyne unto, pleyne on, i. 567. Plowman, the, v. 47. Plutarch, iii. 334-6. Pluto, v. 364, 366. plyt, v. 209, 368. point, in good, v. 23. point-devys, at, v. 109. poke, v. 126. Pole-star, iii. 363. Polyxena, i. 490; iii. 299. pomely-gray, v. 51. Pompey, v. 244. Pope-holy, i. 419. popelote, v. 100. Popering, v. 184. Popinjay, the, i. 520 (l. 359). poppen, i. 424. popper, v. 117. porismes, ii. 442. porthors, i. 170. pose, v. 125, 438. possessioners, v. 331. post, ii. 466; v. 26. potent, ii. 500. potestat, v. 338. poudre-marchaunt, ii. 37. pounage, i. 539, 540. pounsoninge, v. 459. pouped, v. 439.poverte, v. 142. Precession of the equinoxes, v. 395. preching, v. 304. precious, v. 363. preignant, ii. 492. Present tense, 3 p., contracted, v. 22 (l. 187.) Pride, v. 228, 455. Priests, the three, v. 19. prikke, iii. 262. prime, v. 115, 169; pryme, 286, 373; high pr., half pr., 115; fully pr., 192; pr. large, 382. Primum mobile, iii. 355-356; v. 149. Princess, i. 561, 562. principals, adj. pl., iii. 353. principio, in, v. 28. Prioresse, v. 13; her tale, 491. procutour, v. 329. Proper names, accent on, v. 164. proporcionels, v. 394. Prose, in, v. 141. Proverbs: abide by the law, v. 136; after heat comes cold, i. 564; all fails that fools think, ii. 463; all that shines is not gold, v. 428-9; as a blind man starts a hare, iii. 258; as fain as a fowl of a fair day, v. 168, 431, 495; as I brew, &c., iii. 283; as just as a squire, v. 339; as mad as a hare, v. 324; aussi bien sont amourettes, &c., i. 438; avoidance is the only remedy, i. 510; beat the dog before the lion, v. 384; Bernardus monachus non uidit omnia, iii. 289; better late than never, v. 431; a blind man cannot judge colours, ii. 468; boot after bale (Gam.), v. 486; burnt child fears fire, i. 431; v. 431; (the) cat wants fish, &c., iii. 282; companions in misery, ii. 465, (l. 708); cover the gleed, and increase the fire, iii. 315; (the) cowl makes not the monk, i. 443; cuckolds at home, v. 95; curses come home, v. 465; delay is dangerous, ii. 479; dim eyes have no clear sight, v. 222; with empty hand, v. 124-5; evil to him who deserves it, v. 180; the false thinks not like the true, i. 534. (l. 105); familiarity breeds contempt, v. 222; far from eye, v. 105; farewell, fieldfare, ii. 479; farewell to last year's snow, ii. 500; fields have eyes, v. 71; fish out of water, v. 22, 492; a fool's bell is soon rung, i. 439; a fool's bolt is soon shot, i. 523; Fortune favours the bold, ii. 488 (l. 600); Fridays in the week, v. 72; to fry his own grease, v. 303; let the glass head beware of stones, ii. 471; to glaze one's hood, ii. 497; [509] a good child soon learns, v. 177; as good fish in the sea, i. 523; greatest sinner, greatest saint, ii. 466; the guiler is beguiled, i. 441, v. 127; he hasteth well that wisely can abide, v. 206; he is wisest, who cares not, v. 300; he must have a long spoon, &c., v. 385; he that builds his house, &c., v. 308; he that does evil must not expect good, v. 127; he that enters into a game consents to it, v. 342; he that gives quickly deserves most thanks, iii. 308; he that grasps at much holds little, i. 564; he that knows the herb, &c., iii. 251; hear both sides, iii. 303; hoar head and green tail, v. 113; Hoc facit una dies, v. 74; if you have no servant, do it yourself, v. 122; judge hastily, and soon repent, v. 204-5; let sleeping hounds lie, ii. 479; let well alone, i. 559; light as a linden-leaf, v. 353; make a sparrow-hawk of a buzzard, i. 436; make a virtue of necessity, v. 94, 385; making a rod for his own back, ii. 466 (l. 740); many littles make a mickle, v. 454; many peoples, many customs, ii. 468; medicine is bitter, ii. 481; men may outrun old age, v. 87; more haste, worse speed, ii. 466; the mouse that hath but one hole, v. 306; murder will out, v. 179, 253; need has no peer, v. 122; nest and no egg (Gam), v. 486; a nine day's wonder, ii. 488; none so gray goose, v. 299 (l. 269); not all gold that glistens, iii. 250; nothing venture, nothing have, ii. 493; of little meddling comes great ease, v. 443; oil increases fire, v. 262; patience conquers, ii. 493 (l. 1584); to pipe in an ivy-leaf, v. 75; plants without a root soon die, ii. 489; proffered service stinks, i. 523; v. 429; promise is debt, v. 136; qui bien aime, i. 526; Qui plus castigat, i. 437; repel force by force, v. 116; rotten apples spoil the hoard, v. 130; shrews like companions in misfortune, v. 421; slight impressions soon fade, ii. 472; so many heads so many wits, v. 376; soon got, soon spent, v. 288; to spurn against an awl, i. 552; sufferance is an ease, v. 365; (take what you can get), v. 124; that which is overdone, &c., v. 419; there's as good fish, &c., i. 523; they never bent his bow, ii. 471; too heavy or too hot, v. 326; tow on my distaff, v. 111; a true man and a thief think differently, v. 384; true jest is no jest, v. 128; (two strings to a bow), i. 566; unhardy is unsely, v. 125-6; what is learnt when young, &c., i. 483; what one brews, he must drink, iii. 283; when the iron's hot, ii. 472; who comes first to the mill, v. 301; wise men are chastised by fools, ii. 476; with empty hand, v. 302 (l. 415); women's counsels are cold, v. 255. See also i. 559, 564, and the references to the Proverbs in Troilus, ii. lxxviii. Pruce, v. 7. Prudence, three-eyed, ii. 498; origin of the name, v. 202. pryme, v. 286, 373, 382; see prime. prymerole, v. 100. Pseustis, iii. 269. Ptolemaic system, iii. 355-356. Ptolemy, v. 341; quoted, iii. 362; his Almagest, iii. 354; v. 295, 494. Puella and Rubens, v. 82-83. pulle, i. 446; -- a finche, v. 53 (l. 649); pulled hen, 21. Punctuation, i. 431. purchace, v. 161; purchas, 28. pure, i. 476; v. 68. purfiled, v. 23. purpryse, i. 436. purveyance, v. 305. put up, put by, i. 459. Pygmalion, v. 260. Pyramus, iii. 314. Pythagoras, i. 481, 492, 507; ii. 425.

quad (evil), v. 129, 174. quakke, v. 125. Quarnaro, gulf of, i. 487. [510] querne, v. 230. questio quid iuris, v. 53. qui bien aime, i. 525, 526. qui cum patre, v. 332. qui la, v. 171. Quicklime, pots of, iii. 312, 313. quince, i. 428. quinible, v. 102. Quintain, the, v. 436. quirboilly, v. 196-7. quistroun, i. 423.

Rackets, playing at, ii. 488. radevore, iii. 342 (l. 2352), 343. rakel, v. 441. rakelnesse, i. 557. rake-stele, v. 317. rakle, v., ii. 483. Ram, the, v. 2. Ram, as a prize, v. 48, 187, 481. rape and renne, v. 431-2. rape of rees (Gam.), v. 479. Rebeck, v. 102. recchelees, v. 22. rechased, i. 473, 474. reclaim, v. 439. reclaiming, iii. 324. recoverer, i. 566. recreant, v. 467. Red Sea, ii. 437. rede (pipe), iii. 268. rees (Gam.), v. 479. refere, referre, ii. 463. refreyd, i. 550; refreyded, v. 453. refut, v. 160, 405. Regulus, ii. 433. relay, i. 472. relees, oute of, v. 404. releved, iii. 294. Relics, v. 270. Reliq. Antiq. i. 233; v. 308. rémembraunce, iii. 289. renably, v. 327. resalgar, v. 426. rese, verb, v. 79. resport, ii. 485. reste, to, v. 492. ret, pr. s.; ii. 469. Reve, the, v. 50. reverdye, i. 421. reverents, ii. 438. reward, v. 212. rewel-boon, v. 197. rewtheless, i. 524. reyes, iii. 270. Reynard, iii. 345. Reynes (Rennes), i. 469. reysed, v. 7. rhyme, rime, v. 183. ribaud, i. 441. ribybe, v. 325. Richard, St. (Gam.), v. 480-1. riche hil, i. e. Richmond in Yorkshire; John of Gaunt was Earl of Richmond (note partly wrong), i. 495; v. 490. rideled, i. 427. Riding into hall, v. 374. rime, rhyme, v. 183. Rime, an imperfect, i. 560 (l. 23); 565 (xx. 7). Rimes, repeated, v. 379; dissyllabic, 55; in -y or -ye, 199. rim-ram-ruf, v. 446. rist, pr. s., iii. 315. rit, pr. s., v. 418. River, hawking by the, v. 186-7. Robin, Jolly, i. 450; ii. 500 (l. 1174). Rochester, v. 224-5. rochet, i. 427. rodebeem, v. 303 (l. 496). roggeth, iii. 351. Roland, i. 491. rolleth, ii. 500; v. 289. Romaunt of the Rose, i. 1, 417; iii. 301. Romulus' mother, i. 516. ron, pt. s., ii. 478. Ronyan, v. 266. Ronan, St., v. 266-7. ronges, v. 107-8. roon, i. 430. Root, or Radix, iii. 367 (l. 44); v. 151-2, 394. ropen, pt. pl., iii. 293. Rosarie, v. 432. roser, v. 470. rote (fiddle), v. 27. rote (root), v. 2 (l. 2); 434. rouketh, v. 69. Rouncival, v. 55. rouncy, v. 38. Roundel, i. 524-5; iii. 307. roundel (circle), iii. 260. rowes, i. 495, 496. royales, v. 194-5. Rubeus, v. 82-3. rubible, ribible, v. 102. rubifying, v. 424. Ruggieri, v. 241. rum, ram, ruf, v. 446. Russia, v. 371. Rusticiana, ii. 430.

-s, sign of pl. adj., iii. 353. Saddle-bow, v. 90. sadly, v. 159. saffron, v. 269, 270. Sails, purple, iii. 313. Saints carried to heaven, v. 334. Sal armoniacum, v. 424. sal peter, v. 425. sal tartre, v. 425. salwes, v. 308. Sapor, v. 236. Sarai, v. 370. sarpulers, ii. 422. Satan, v. 228. Saturn, influence of, iii. 349; v. 88. Sauces, v. 34. savour, i. 551. save (sage), v. 91. sawcefleem, v. 52. saylours, i. 423. saynt, i. 449. Scholars, poor, v. 31. [511] Scipio (Africanus Minor), i. 506. scolering, v. 293. scorkleth, ii. 433. scorning, i. 518. Scorpion, i. 479; v. 153, 365, 441; -- with woman's face, 153. Scot (horse's name), v. 51. scriveyn, i. 539. Scylla, daughter of Nisus, i. 515; ii. 500; iii. 334. Sea, keeping the, v. 29, 30. Sea-fights, v. 39. Seals, virtue of, v. 374-5. secree of secrees, v. 433. seet (sat), i. 477. seet, sete, i. 477. seint-e, v. 189. seken, to, v. 427. selle (flooring), v. 112. sely, iii. 321. semëly, v. 14. semi-cope, v. 225. Semiramis, iii. 314. sendal, v. 42. sene, i. 565; iii. 314; v. 16. Seneca, v. 243, 443. sent, pr. s., v. 351. sente, v. 164. septem triones, ii. 433. sereyns, i. 421. seriaunt, ii. 439. Serpent in form of woman, v. 153. servant, (lover), i. 459, 511; iii. 257, 301; v. 74. sessions, v. 34. set, pr. s., i. 461. sete, pp., iii. 320. sette his howve, v. 115. seur, siker, v. 217. seven yeer, v. 493. sewe, i. 554. sewes, v. 373. Sewing letters, ii. 472. sey (saw), v. 132. së-ynt, v. 111. Shadow, length of the, v. 133. shal, i. 528, 568. shalmye, iii. 268. shalt, v. 67. shamefast, iii. 327. sheeld, v. 173; sheeldes, 30 (l. 278). Sheffield knives, v. 117. shene, v. 18. shipe (hire), i. 536; shepe, v. 463. Shipman, the, v. 38-9. shipnes, v. 315. shirt, iii. 349 (l. 2629). sho, v. 28. Shoes, slashed, v. 101. sholder-boon, v. 464. shoop him, v. 168. shot-windowe, v. 103-4. Shoulder-blade, divination by a, v. 271. shoures, ii. 481. shynede, iii. 321. sib, v. 215. sicer, v. 230. Sichæus, iii. 319. sight-e, s., iii. 291. sighte, pt. s., v. 163. significavit, v. 53. Signs, influence of the, iii. 359. siker, iii. 349-50. sikerly, v. 16. Simile: like buckets in a well, v. 72. Simkin, v. 118 simphonye, v. 192. simpilly, i. 437. Sinon, iii. 317-8; v. 376-7. Sins, Seven, v. 359, 455. Sir Thopas, metre of, v. 183. sis cink, v. 143-4. sisours (Gam.), v. 488. sit, v. 354. site, iii. 362. Sitho, iii. 346. sitte on knees, i. 466; sit on knee, iii. 337. Sittingbourne, v. 313. skaffaut, i. 436. sledes, ii. 446. slider, v. 68. slit, i. 505. slong, v. 442. sloppes, v. 459. Sloth, v. 466-8. slowe, s., i. 438. sly, slyly, v. 70. slyde, v. 343. smal (voice), i. 549. smoterlich, v. 119. snewed, v. 34. so mote I thee, v. 192, 253. so that, iii. 327-8. so theech, v. 290. Socrates and Xantippe, v. 311. sokingly, v. 220. sol, v. 433. solas, i. 184. soler, v. 120. Soler-halle, v. 119-20. som (singular), i. 470; v. 428; some, ii. 472. Somer, John, iii. 353. somer-sesoun, ii. 440, 453. Somnour, the, v. 51. songe, ii. 504. sonne, fem., v. 404. sop-in-wine, v. 33. sort, v. 464. sote, v. 1. sothe, v. 419. souded, v. 179. Sound, theory of, iii. 259, 260. souneth into, v. 225, 384, 441; souninge, 29. soure (buck), i. 475. sours, iii. 255; v. 336. souse, (mod. E.), iii. 255. Southern dialect, v. 445. sovereines, pl. adj., ii. 455. spanisshing, i. 434. Sparrow, the, i. 519. sparth, v. 89. spectacle, v. 322. spending-silver, v. 429. spenser (Gam.), v. 484. [512] Spheres, the, i. 557; ii. 425, 446, 474, 504-5; seven --, i. 496-7; nine --, i. 506, iii. 355; v. 149, 394-5, 406. Spheres, harmony of the, i. 507. Spices and wine, ii. 506; iii. 320; Spices, v. 189, 381. Spicery, v. 145, 195. Spirits (in alchemy), v. 423, 426-7. spitous, i. 566. springen, v. 167. springers, v. 455. springoldes, i. 436. spyced conscience, v. 46-7. spycerye, v. 145, 195; see Spices. squaymous, v. 102-3. Squire, v. 9. squire, as just as a, v. 338. staf-slinge, v. 192. stalke, iii. 332, v. 116. stamin, iii. 343. stand (in) awe, v. 482. stant, v. 375. stape, v. 248. Starling, the, i. 518. Stars, seven, i. 483; -- (on a Rete), iii. 357-8. startling, iii. 322. Statius, iii. 277. stele, (handle), v. 111, 317. stellifye, iii. 256. stemed, v. 24. stepe, v. 24. -ster, as a suffix, v. 276-7. sterres fixes, iii. 357. steven, sette, v. 130. stewe, v. 34. stewes, v. 324. steyre, i. 500. Stilbon, v. 282. stillatorie, v. 418. Stoics, the, ii. 458. stole, iii. 342. stoon-stille (Gam.), v. 479. store, adj., v. 368. Stork, the, i. 520. stot, v. 51, 329. stounde, v. 68. Strode, Ralph, ii. 505. Strother, v. 120. stree, v. 215. streite swerd, v. 257. style, v. 374. Sublimation, v. 422-3. subiection, v. 453. Substance and accident, ii. 493; v. 279. Suetonius, v. 242, 245. suffice, i. 551. Sugar or soot, ii. 481. sukkenye, i. 426. Summer, the hot, v. 39. Summer-games, v. 307-8. Sun, gender of the, iii. 360. Sun, position of the, v. 133. surquidrie, v. 457. sursanure, v. 391. Swallow, the, i. 519. swalow, iii. 320. Swan, the, i. 517; Swans eaten, v. 373. Swearing, v. 283-4. swete, v. 1. swete fo, i. 537 (l. 272). sweveninges, i. 417. sweynt-e, iii. 281. swinke, iii. 337; swinken, v. 22. swore, pp., v. 483. sworn, had it, v. 65 (l. 1089). sworn-e, pl., v. 325. sy (saw), v. 431. Symmachus, ii. 430. syte, verb, ii. 471.