II. sc. 1. p. 27. (reprint.) (part 1 of 2)

II. sc. 1. p. 27. (reprint.) (part 1 of 2)

Mr. Collier (Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poet. ii. 448) speaks of Jack Raker as if he really had existed: I rather think that he was an imaginary person, whose name had become proverbial.

v. 110. crakar] i. e. vaunter, big talker.

Page 123. v. 114. despyghtyng] “I Dispyte I grutche or reprime agaynst a thing.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccxiiii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 115. nat worthe a myteyng]—myteyng (which occurs in our author’s Elynour Rummyng as a term of endearment, v. 224. vol. i. 102) is here perhaps equivalent to “Myte the leest coyne that is pite.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlviii. (Table of Subst.).

v. 117. scole] i. e. school.

v. 118. occupyed no better your tole] i. e. used no better your tool, pen: see note, p. 86. v. 52.

v. 119. Ye xulde haue kowththyd me a fole] i. e. You should have made me known for, shewn me to be, a fool.

v. 121. wyse] i. e. think, intend.

v. 122. xall] i. e. shall.

v. 123. Thow] i. e. Though.

—— Sarsens] i. e. Saracen’s.

v. 124. Row] i. e. Rough.

—— here] i. e. hair.

v. 125. heuery] i. e. every.

v. 127. peson] i. e. pease.

v. 129. geson] i. e. scarce, scanty.

v. 131.

Your skyn scabbyd and scuruy, Tawny, tannyd, and shuruy, &c.]

—shuruy, i. e., perhaps, “shrovy, squalid.” Forby’s Vocab. of East Anglia. With this passage compare The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy (see note, p. 177. v. 4);

“Fy! skolderit skyn, thow art bot skyre and skrumple.” ... “Ane crabbit, skabbit, evill facit messane tyk.” ... “Thow lukis lowsy.”

Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 70, 84, 72. ed. Laing.

Page 124. v. 139. Xall kyt both wyght and grene] i. e. Shall cut both white and green,—an allusion to the dress which our author appears to have worn as Laureat; see Account of Skelton and his Writings.

v. 140. to grett] i. e. too great.

v. 143. puauntely] i. e. stinkingly, strongly.

v. 155. crawes] i. e. crops, stomachs.

v. 157. perke] i. e. perch.

v. 158. gummys] i. e. gums.

Page 124. v. 159. serpentins] “His campe was enuironed with artilerie, as fawcones, serpentynes, cast hagbushes,” &c. Hall’s Chronicle (Henry viii.), fol. xxviii. ed. 1548.

v. 160. bynde] i. e. bend; so in the next poem we find “wyll” for “well,” and “spynt” for “spent,” peculiarities to be attributed to the transcriber, not to Skelton.

v. 162. scorpyone] So in The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy (see note, p. 177. v. 4) “scorpion vennemous.” Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 75. ed. Laing.

v. 163. bawdy babyone] i. e. filthy baboon; see note, p. 161. v. 90.

v. 165. mantycore] See note, p. 127. v. 294.

v. 168. gresly gargone] i. e. grisly Gorgon.

—— glaymy] i. e., I suppose, slimy, clammy.

v. 169. seymy] i. e. greasy.

Page 125. v. 170. murrionn] i. e. Moor; see note, p. 178. v. 22.

—— mawment] “Mawment. Idolum. Simulacrum.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “Maument marmoset, poupee.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlvii. (Table of Subst.). “Mawment, a puppet.” Brockett’s Gloss. of North Country Words.—(Mawmet, i. e. Mahomet.)

v. 172. marmoset] A sort of ape or monkey.

v. 173. I wyll nat dy in they det]—they, i. e. thy; as in the next poem.—Compare Cocke Lorelles Bote;

“Yf he call her calat she calleth hym knaue agayne She shyll not dye in his dette.”

Sig. B i.

v. 175. xulddst] i. e. shouldst.

v. 176. xall] i. e. shall.

v. 177. hole] i. e. whole.

v. 178. Soche pelfry thou hast pachchyd] I do not understand this line: pelfry is, perhaps, pilfery; but does it not rather mean—petty goods,—which Garnesche had pachchyd, fraudulently got together? “Muche of theyr fishe they do barter with English men, for mele, lases, and shoes, and other pelfery.” Borde’s Boke of knowledge, sig. I, reprint. “Owt of whyche countre the sayd Scottys fled, and left mych corne, butters, and other pylfre, behinde theim, whyche the ost hade.” Letter from Gray to Crumwell, State Papers, iii. 155,—the Vocabulary to which renders pylfre, pillage—wrongly, I believe.

v. 179. houyr wachyd] i. e. over watched.

v. 180. thou xuldyst be rachchyd] i. e. thou shouldest be stretched—have thy neck stretched. So in The Flytyng of Dunbar and Kennedy (see note, p. 177. v. 4);

“For substance and geir thow hes a widdy teuch On Mont Falcone, about thy craig to rax.”

Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 79. ed. Laing.

Page 125. v. 182. be bedawyd] Does it mean—be daunted? or, be called simple fellow? see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 183. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 184. gronde] i. e. ground.

v. 186. Syr Dalyrag] So our author elsewhere;

“Let syr Wrigwrag wrastell with syr Delarag.”

Speke, Parrot, v. 91. vol. ii. 6.

“Adue nowe, sir Wrig wrag, Adue, sir Dalyrag!”

Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. v. 297. vol. ii. 76.

v. 187. brag] i. e. proud, insolent.

v. 189. kyt ... to large] i. e. cut ... too large.

v. 190. Suche pollyng paiaunttis ye pley] i. e. Such plundering pageants, thievish pranks, you play. The expression to “play a pageant”—to play a part,—has before occurred, see note, p. 88. v. 85. With the present passage compare: “This one pageant hath stayned al other honest dedes ... flagitium.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. N v. ed. 1530. “That was a wyly pageaunt ... commentum.” Id. sig. N vi. “Thou gatest no worshyp by this pageant ... facinore.” Id. sig. P v. “He had thought to playe me a pagent: Il me cuyda donner le bont.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccxvii. (Table of Verbes). “A felowe which had renued many of Robin Hodes Pagentes.” Fabyan’s Chron. vol. ii. fol. 533. ed. 1559. “After he had plaied all his troublesome pageants,” &c. Holinshed’s Chron. (Hen. viii.) vol. iii. 830. ed. 1587.

v. 191. poynt] i. e. appoint, equip.

—— fresche] i. e. smart.

v. 192. he] i. e. Godfrey; see note on title of the second of these poems, p. 180.

v. 193. rowllys] i. e. rolls.

v. 194. sowllys] i. e. souls.

v. 197.

That byrd ys nat honest That fylythe hys owne nest]

—fylythe, i. e. defileth. This proverb occurs in The Owl and the Nightingale (a poem of the 12th century), p. 4. Rox. ed.

v. 199. wyst what sum wotte] i. e. knew what some know.

Page 126. v. 204. Jake a thrum] In his Magnyfycence our author mentions “Jacke a thrommys bybyll,” v. 1444. vol. i. 272 (also in his Garlande of Laurell, v. 209. vol. i. 370); and in his Colyn Cloute he uses the expression,—

“As wyse as Tom a thrum.”

v. 284. vol. i. 322,—

where the MS. has “Jacke athrum.”—Compare: “And therto acordes too worthi prechers, Jacke a Throme and Ione Brest-Bale.” Burlesques,—Reliquiæ Antiquæ (by Wright and Halliwell), i. 84.

goliardum] Equivalent, probably, to buffoon, or ridiculous rhymer. See Du Cange’s Gloss. in v., Tyrwhitt’s note on Chaucer’s Cant. Tales, v. 562, and Roquefort’s Gloss. in v. Goliard.

lusty Garnyshe well beseen Crystofer] See note on title of the third of these poems, p. 183.

Page 126. v. 1. gargone] i. e. Gorgon.

v. 3. Thowthe ye kan skylle of large and longe] i. e. Though you be skilled in large and long; see note, p. 95. v. 49.

v. 4.

Ye syng allway the kukkowe songe: ... Your chorlyshe chauntyng ys al o lay]

—o lay, i. e. one strain. So Lydgate;

“The cokkowe syng can than but oon lay.”

The Chorle and the Bird,—MS. Harl. 116. fol. 151.

v. 12. Cicero with hys tong of golde] So Dunbar speaking of Homer and Tully;

“Your aureate tongis both bene all to lyte,” &c.

Poems, i. 13. ed. Laing.

v. 17. xalte] i. e. shalt.

—— warse] i. e. worse.

v. 18. They] i. e. Thy; as in the preceding poem.

Page 127. v. 23. lest good kan] i. e. that knows the least good.

v. 25. wylage] i. e. village.

v. 28. Lothsum as Lucifer] So in The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy (see note, p. 177. v. 4), “Luciferis laid.” Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 75. ed. Laing.

v. 29. gasy] i. e. gaze, look proudly.

v. 30. Syr Pers de Brasy] i. e. Pierre de Brézé, grand-seneschal of Anjou, Poitou, and Normandy, and a distinguished warrior during the reigns of Charles vii. and Lewis xi.: he fell at the battle of Montlhéry in 1465.

v. 31. caytyvys carkes] i. e. caitiff’s carcass.

v. 32. blasy] i. e. blaze, set forth.

v. 33. Gorge Hardyson] Perhaps the “George Ardeson” who is several times mentioned in the unpublished Bokis of Kyngis Paymentis Temp. Hen. vii. and viii., preserved in the Chapter-House, Westminster: one entry concerning him is as follows;

“[xxiii. of Hen. vii.]

George Ardeson and Domynicke Sall er } bounden in an obligacion to pay for the } lycence of cccl buttes of malvesey viˢ viiiᵈ }cxviˡⁱ xiiiˢ.” for euery but within iii monethes next } after they shalbe layde vpon lande }

Page 127. v. 34. habarion] i. e. habergeon. “Haburion. Lorica.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 35. the Januay] i. e. the Genoese. “The ianuays ... Genuenses.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. k iii. ed. 1530.

v. 36. trysyd hys trowle away] i. e. (I suppose) enticed away his trull.

v. 37. paiantes] See note, p. 189. v. 190.

v. 39. gate] i. e. got.

—— gaudry] i. e., perhaps, trickery. In the Towneley Mysteries, gawde, trick, occurs several times.

v. 41. Fanchyrche strete] i. e. Fenchurch Street.

v. 42. lemmanns] i. e. mistresses.

v. 43. Bas] i. e. Kiss.

—— buttyng] A term of endearment, which I do not understand.

—— praty] i. e. pretty.

v. 47. Bowgy row] i. e. Budge Row: “This Ward [Cordwainers Street Ward] beginneth in the East, on the West side of Walbrooke, and runneth West, thorow Budge row (a street so called of the Budge Furr, and of Skinners dwelling there),” &c. Stow’s Survey, B. iii. 15. ed. 1720.

v. 50. mow] i. e. mouth,—mock.

Page 128. v. 54. lust] i. e. liking, inclination.

v. 55. broke] i. e. badger.

v. 56. Gup, Syr Gy] See notes, p. 99. v. 17. p. 184. v. 70.

v. 57. xulde] i. e. should.

v. 59. herey] i. e. hairy.

v. 60. on Goddes halfe] See note, p. 174. v. 501.

v. 61. pray] i. e. prey.

v. 63. auncetry] i. e. ancestry.

v. 66. askry] See notes, p. 145. v. 903. p. 152. v. 1358.

v. 68. Haroldis] i. e. Heralds.

v. 69. Thow] i. e. Though.

v. 73. brothells] i. e. harlots. “Brothell pailliarde putayn.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xxii. (Table of Subst.).

Page 128. v. 75. Betweyn the tappett and the walle] A line which occurs again in our author’s Magnyfycence, v. 1249. vol. i. 265: tappett, i. e. tapestry, hangings.

v. 76. Fusty bawdyas] An expression used again by Skelton in his Garlande of Laurell;

“Foo, foisty bawdias! sum smellid of the smoke.”

v. 639. vol. i. 387.

It occurs in the metrical tale The Kyng and the Hermyt;

“When the coppe comys into the plas, Canst thou sey fusty bandyas, [baudyas] And think it in your thouht? And you schall here a totted frere Sey stryke pantnere, And in ye [the] cope leve ryht nouht.”

Brit. Bibliogr. iv. 90.

and several times after, in the same poem.

v. 77. harres] Equivalent to—collection. Fr. haras, a stud. “Haras of horse. Equicium.” Prompt. Parv.,—MS. Harl. 221.

v. 78. clothe of Arres] i. e. tapestry; so called from Arras in Artois, where the chief manufacture of such hangings was.

v. 79. eylythe] i. e. aileth.

—— rebawde] i. e. ribald.

v. 82. Auaunsid] i. e. Advanced.

v. 83. hole] i. e. whole.

v. 85. lorell] See note, p. 183. v. 14.

—— to lewde] i. e. too ignorant, vile.

v. 86. Lythe and lystyn] i. e. Attend and listen—a sort of pleonastic expression common in our earliest poetry.

—— all bechrewde] See note, p. 97. v. 28.

Page 129. v. 88. pointyd] i. e. appointed.

v. 89. semyth] i. e. beseemeth.

—— pyllyd pate] See note, p. 184. v. 68.

v. 91. scryue] i. e. write.

v. 92. cumys] i. e. becomes.

v. 93. tumrelle] i. e. tumbrel.

v. 94. melle] i. e. meddle.

v. 95. The honor of Englande] i. e. Henry the Eighth.

v. 97. wyl] i. e. well; as afterwards in this poem.

—— parcele] i. e. part, portion.

v. 98. yaue] i. e. gave.

v. 99. Eliconys] i. e. Helicon’s.

v. 101. commyth] i. e. becometh.

Page 129. v. 101. remorde] Fr. “Remordre. To bite again; also, to carpe at, or find fault with.” Cotgrave’s Dict. The word is frequently used by Skelton (see, for instance, vol. i. 188, where he introduces it with other terms nearly synonymous,—“reprehending” and “rebukynge”).

v. 102. creaunser] i. e. tutor: see Account of Skelton and his Writings.—Erasmus, in his Paraph. in Epist. Pauli ad Galat. cap. 4. v. 2,—Opp. vii. 956. ed. 1703-6, has these words; “sed metu cohibetur, sed alieno arbitrio ducitur, sub tutoribus et actoribus agens,” &c.: which are thus rendered in The Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testament, vol. ii. fol. xiii. ed. 1548-9; “but is kept vnder with feare, and ruled as other men wyll, passyng that tyme vnder creansers and gouernours,” &c. (Fr. creanser.)

v. 105. primordialle] i. e. original, earliest.

v. 106. rybawde] i. e. ribald.

—— reclame] i. e. tame,—a metaphor from falconry; see note, p. 148. v. 1125.

v. 111. warlde] i. e. world.

v. 114. bawdy] i. e. foul; see note, p. 161. v. 90.

Page 130. v. 117. Thow] i. e. Though.

—— pyllyd] See note, p. 184. v. 68.

—— sade] i. e. sad,—sober, discreet,—wise (see the preceding line).

v. 120. Thowth] i. e. Though.

v. 122. throw] i. e. little while, moment.

v. 125. thé froo] i. e. from thee.

v. 127. lewde] i. e. ignorant.

—— shrow] i. e. curse.

v. 132. Prickyd] i. e. Pointed.

v. 133.

I wold sum manys bake ink horne Wher thi nose spectacle case]

—manys, i. e. man’s: bake, i. e. back: Wher, i. e. Were. Compare our author’s poem against Dundas, v. 37. vol. i. 194, and Bale’s Kynge Iohan, p. 35. Camden ed.

v. 135. wyll] i. e. well; as before in this poem.

v. 136. ouyrthwarthe] i. e. overthwart,—cross, perverse, cavillous, captious.

v. 144. steuyn] i. e. voice.

v. 145. follest] i. e. foulest.

v. 146. lyddyr] Or lither,—is—sluggish, slothful, idle; but the word is often used in the more general meaning of wicked, evil, depraved.

Page 130. v. 146. lewde] i. e. ignorant.

v. 147. well thewde] i. e. well dispositioned, well mannered.

Page 131. v. 148. Besy] i. e. Busy.

v. 149. Syr Wrig wrag] A term several times used by Skelton; see note, p. 189. v. 186.

v. 151. slyght] i. e. trick, contrivance.

v. 153. to mykkylle] i. e. too much.

v. 154. I xulde but lese] i. e. I should but lose.

v. 155. tragydese] i. e. tragedies. Skelton does not mean here dramatic pieces: compare his piece Against the Scottes, v. 72. vol. i. 184. So Lydgate’s celebrated poem, The TRAGEDIES, gathered by Iohn Bochas, of all such Princes as fell from theyr estates, &c.

v. 157. my proces for to saue]—proces, i. e. story; see notes, p. 143. v. 735. p. 146. v. 969. So our author in his _Why come ye nat to Courte_;

“Than, our processe for to stable.”

v. 533. vol. ii. 43.

v. 158. xall] i. e. shall.

v. 162. a tyd] i. e. betime.

v. 164. Haruy Haftar] See note, p. 107. v. 138.

v. 166. xulde] i. e. should.

v. 170. hay ... ray] Names of dances, the latter less frequently mentioned than the former:

“I can daunce the raye, I can both pipe and sing.”

Barclay’s First Egloge, sig. A ii. ed. 1570.

v. 171. fonde] i. e. foolish.

v. 173. lewdenes] i. e. ignorance, baseness, worthlessness.

v. 176. spynt] i. e. spent, employed.

v. 180. I xall thé aquyte] i. e. I shall requite thee.

AGAINST VENEMOUS TONGUES.

Page 132. Psalm cxlij.] Vulg. cxix. 3.

Psal. lxvii.] Vulg. li. 7.

v. 4. Hoyning] “Hoigner. To grumble, mutter, murmure; to repine; also, to whyne as a child or dog.” Cotgrave’s Dict. “Hoi, a word vsed in driuing hogges,” says Minsheu; who proceeds to derive it “a Gr. κοΐ, quod est imitatio vocis porcellorum.” Guide into Tongues.

—— groynis] See note, p. 180. v. 2.

—— wrotes] i. e. roots.

Page 132. v. 2. made ... a windmil of an olde mat] The same expression occurs again in our author’s Magnyfycence, v. 1040. vol. i. 258.

v. 4. commaunde] i. e. commend.

—— Cok wat] See note, p. 108. v. 173.

Page 133. v. 2. lack] i. e. fault, blame.

v. 3. In your crosse rowe nor Christ crosse you spede]—crosse rowe, i. e. alphabet; so called, it is commonly said, because a cross was prefixed to it, or perhaps because it was written in the form of a cross. See Nares’s Gloss. in v. Christ-cross. Christ crosse you spede alludes to some other elementary form of instruction:

“How long agoo lerned ye Crist crosse me spede?”

Lydgate’s Prohemy of a mariage, &c.,—MS. Harl. 372. fol. 50.

and see title of a poem cited p. 167. v. 296.

v. 7. cognisaunce] i. e. badge.

v. 1. scole] i. e. school, teaching.

—— haute] i. e. high, lofty.

v. 2. faute] i. e. fault.

v. 2. faitours] Has been explained before (see p. 91. v. 172)—deceivers, dissemblers; and is rendered by Tyrwhitt (Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales), lazy, idle fellows; but here the word seems to be used as a general term of reproach,—scoundrels.

—— half straught] i. e. half in their senses.

v. 4. liddrous] See note, p. 193. v. 146.

—— lewde] i. e. ignorant, vile.

v. 3. vale of bonet of their proude sayle]—vale, i. e. lower: bonet means a small sail attached to the larger sails.

v. 4. ill hayle] See note, p. 176. v. 617.

Page 134. v. 4. vntayde] i. e. untied, loose.

—— renning] i. e. running.

v. 7. lewdly alowed] i. e., perhaps, ignorantly approved of.

v. 9. vertibilite] i. e. variableness.

v. 10. folabilite] i. e. folly.

v. 12. coarte] i. e. coarct, constrain.

v. 13. hay the gy of thre] Perhaps an allusion to the dance called heydeguies (a word variously spelt).

v. 2. Pharaotis] i. e. (I suppose) Pharaoh.

v. 1. vnhappy] i. e. mischievous.

Page 135. v. 2. atame] i. e. tame.

v. 1. tratlers] i. e. prattlers, tattlers.

v. 3. Scalis Malis] i. e. Cadiz. “The tounes men of Caleis, or Caleis males, sodainly rong their common bell,” &c. Hall’s Chronicle (Hen. viii.), fol. xiii. ed. 1548. “His fortunatest piece I esteem the taking of Cadiz Malez.” A Parallel of the Earl of Essex and the Duke of Buckingham,—Reliquiæ Wottonianæ, p. 177. ed. 1672.

Page 135. v. 4. nut shalis] i. e. nutshells.

v. 7. ren] i. e. run.

—— lesinges] i. e. falsehoods.

v. 8. wrate suche a bil] i. e. wrote such a letter.

v. 10. ill apayed] i. e. ill pleased, ill satisfied.

v. 1. hight] i. e. is called.

v. 2. quight] i. e. requite.

v. 5. Although he made it neuer so tough] The expression, to make it tough, i. e. to make difficulties, occurs frequently, and with several shades of meaning, in our early writers; see R. of Gloucester’s Chronicle, p. 510. ed. Hearne, and the various passages cited in Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales in v. Tough. Palsgrave has “I Make it tough I make it coye as maydens do or persons that be strange if they be asked a questyon.” Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccxcii. (Table of Verbes).

ON TYME.

Page 137. v. 5. hym lyst] i. e. pleases him.

v. 6. couenable] i. e. fit.

v. 10. sad] i. e. serious.

v. 17. trauell] i. e. travail, labour.

v. 21. prease] i. e. press, throng.

Page 138. v. 23. lacke] i. e. blame.

v. 24. rotys] i. e. roots.

—— vere] i. e. spring.

Quod] i. e. Quoth.

PRAYER TO THE SECONDE PARSON.

Page 139. v. 7. Agayne] i. e. Against.

v. 8. woundis fyue] A common expression in our early poetry;

“Jhesu, for thi woundes five,” &c.

Minot’s Poems, p. 5. ed. Ritson.

See too Dunbar’s Poems, i. 229. ed. Laing.

Page 140. v. 10. blo] i. e. livid; see note, p. 103. v. 3.

WOFFULLY ARAID

Is mentioned by our author as one of his compositions in the Garlande of Laurell, v. 1418. vol. i. 417.

With the opening of this piece compare Hawes’s Conuercyon of Swerers, where Christ is made to exclaim,

“They newe agayne do hange me on the rode, They tere my sydes, and are nothynge dysmayde, My woundes they do open, and deuoure my blode: I, god and man, moost wofully arayde, To you complayne, it maye not be denayde; Ye nowe to lugge me, ye tere me at the roote, Yet I to you am chefe refuyte and bote.”

and a little after,

“Why arte thou harde herted,” &c.

Sig. A iii. ed. n. d. 4to.

Barclay too has,

“Some sweareth armes, nayles, heart, and body, Tearing our Lorde worse then the Jewes him arayde.”

The Ship of Fooles, fol. 33. ed. 1570.

Woffully araid is, I believe, equivalent to—wofully disposed of or treated, in a woful condition. “Araye condicion or case poynt.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xviii. (Table of Subst.)—(and see note, p. 164. v. 163).

“Isaac. What have I done, fader, what have I saide? Abraham. Truly, no kyns ille to me. Isaac. And thus gyltles shalle be arayde.”

Abraham,—Towneley Mysteries, p. 40.

—“His [Tybert’s] body was al to beten, and blynde on the one eye. Whan the kynge wyste this, that tybert was thus arayed, he was sore angry, &c.” Reynard the Fox, sig. b 8. ed. 1481. Again in the same romance, when Isegrym the wolf has received a kick on the head from a mare, he says to Reynard, “I am so foule arayed and sore hurte, that an herte of stone myght haue pyte of me.” Sig. f 4.

“Who was wyth loue: more wofully arayed Than were these twayne.”

Hawes’s Pastime of pleasure, sig. I iiii. ed. 1555.

“I am fowle arayed with a chyne cowgh. Laceor pertussi.”—“He was sore arayed with sycknesse. Morbo atrociter conflictus est.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sigs. II iii. I ii. ed. 1530.

Page 141. v. 4. naid] i. e. denied.

v. 5. bloo] i. e. livid; see note, p. 103. v. 3.

v. 8. encheson] i. e. cause.

v. 9. Sith] i. e. Since.

v. 12. fretid] Equivalent to—galled.

v. 14. mowid] i. e. made mouths at, mocked.

v. 19. hart rote] i. e. heart-root.

Page 141. v. 20. panys] i. e. pains.

—— vaynys] i. e. veins.

—— crake] i. e. crack.

Page 142. v. 24.

Entretid thus in most cruell wyse, Was like a lombe offerd in sacrifice]

Entretid, i. e. Treated. So in a “litel dite” by Lydgate, appended to his Testamentum;

“Drawen as a felon in moost cruel wyse ... Was lik a lamb offryd in sacrifise.”

MS. Harl. 2255. fol. 64.

v. 29. bobbid] i. e. struck. So Lydgate in the piece just cited;

“Bete and eke bobbid.”

Ibid.

and in the Coventry Mysteries, Nichodemus seeing Christ on the cross, says

“Why haue ȝe bobbyd and thus betyn owth All his blyssyd blood?”

MS. Cott. Vesp. D viii. fol. 186.

—— robbid] i. e. (I suppose) robed.

v. 30. Onfayned] Generally means un-glad, displeased, which even in the forced sense of—to my sorrow, is against the intention of the passage: it seems to be used here for—Unfeignedly: and see note, p. 207. v. 81.

—— deynyd] i. e. disdained;

“Youth dayneth counsell, scorning discretion.”

Barclay’s Fifth Egloge, sig. D ii. ed. 1570.

v. 33. myȝt] i. e. might.

v. 39. enterly] i. e. entirely.

v. 43. ȝytt] i. e. yet.

v. 45. race] i. e. tear, wound.

v. 48. Butt gyve me thyne hert]—hert, i. e. heart. With this and v. 41 compare Lydgate’s “litel dite” already cited;

“Gyff me thyn herte, and be no mor vnkynde.”

MS. Harl. 2255. fol. 66.

Page 143. v. 49. wrouȝt] i. e. wrought, formed.

—— bowgȝt] i. e. bought, redeemed.

v. 50. hyȝt] i. e. high.

v. 55. sawlys] i. e. soul’s.

v. 59. Hytt] i. e. It.

—— nayd] i. e. denied.

v. 60. blow] i. e. livid; see note, p. 103. v. 3.

NOW SYNGE WE, &c.

This piece is mentioned by Skelton as his own composition in the Garlands of Laurell, v. 1420. vol. i. 417.

Page 144. v. 1.

Now synge we as we were wont, Vexilla regis prodeunt]

Compare Lydgate;

“Wherefore I synge as I was wont Vexilla regis prodeunt.”

Poem about various birds singing praises to God,—MS. Harl. 2251. fol. 38.

The hymn Vexilla regis prodeunt, &c. may be seen in Hymni Ecclesiæ e Breviario Parisiensi, 1838, p. 71. I ought to add that the present poem is not a translation of it.

v. 3. onfelde is [s]playd] i. e. is displayed on field.

v. 4. nayd] i. e. denied.

v. 11. thees] i. e. thighs.

v. 13. pyne] i. e. pain.

v. 14. spylt] i. e. destroyed, put to death.

v. 17. dong] i. e. dung, struck.

Page 145. v. 25. fote] i. e. foot.

v. 31. Syth] i. e. Since.

v. 33. chere] i. e. spirit,—or reception.

v. 35. lykes] i. e. pleases.

v. 40. eysell] i. e. vinegar.

v. 51. doone] i. e. done.

Page 146. v. 60. isprode] i. e. spread.

v. 68. payne] i. e. labour, strive.

v. 71. mys] i. e. miss, fail.

v. 72. Withouten nay] i. e. Without contradiction, assuredly.

v. 74. hardnes] i. e. cruelty.

LATIN POEM.

Page 147. v. 7. gentis Agarenæ] i. e. of the race of Hagar.

THE MANER OF THE WORLD NOW A DAYES.

In giving this poem a place among our author’s undoubted productions, I now apprehend that I deferred too much to the judgment of my friend Mr. J. P. Collier, who had recently reprinted it without suspecting its genuineness. It may, after all, be Skelton’s; but at any rate it is only a rifacimento of the following verses,—found in MS. Sloane, 747. fol. 88, and very difficult to decipher:

“So propre cappes So lytle hattes And so false hartes Saw y never.

So wyde gownes In cytees and townes And so many sellers of bromys Say I never.

Suche garded huoes [hose] Suche playted shoes And suche a pose Say y never.

Dowbletes not[?] syde The syde so wyde And so moche pride Was never.

So many ryven shertes So well appareld chyrches And so many lewed clerkes Say I never.

So fayre coursers So godely trappers And so fewe foluers Say y never.

So many fayere suerdes So lusty knyghtes and lordes And so fewe covered bordes Say I never.

So joly garded clokes So many clyppers of grotes And go vntyde be the throtes Say I never.

So many wyde pu[r]ces And so fewe gode horses And so many curses Say y never.

Suche bosters and braggers And suche newe facyshyont daggers And so many cursers Say I never.

So many propere knyffes So well apparelld wyfes And so evyll of there lyfes Say I never.

The stretes so swepynge With wemen clothynge And so moche swerynge Say I never.

Suche blendynge of legges In townes and hegges And so many plegges Say I never.

Of wymen kynde Lased be hynde So lyke the fende Say I never.

So many spyes So many lyes And so many thevys Say I never.

So many wronges So few mery songges And so many ivel tonges Say I neuer.

So moche trechery Symony and vsery Poverte and lechery Say I never.

So fewe sayles So lytle avayles And so many jayles Sawe y never.

So many esterlynges Lombardes and flemynges To bere awey our wynynges Sawe I never.

Be there sotyll weys Al Englande decays For suche false Januayes Sawe I neuer.

Amonge the ryche Where frenship ys to seche But so fayre glosynge speche Sawe I never.

So many poore Comynge to the dore And so litle socour Sawe I never.

So prowde and say [gay?] So joly in aray And so litle money Sawe I never.

So many sellers So fewe byers And so many marchaunt taylors Sawe I never.

Executores havynge mony and ware Than havynge so litle care How the pore sowle shall fare Sawe I never.

So many lawers vse The truthe to refuse And suche falsehed excuse Sawe I never.

Whan a man ys dede His wiffe so shortely wed And havynge suche hast to bed Sawe I neuer.

So many maydens blamed Wrongefully not defamed And beyenge so lytle ashamyd Sawe I never.

Relygiouse in cloystere closyd And prestes and large[272] losed Beyenge so evyll disposyd Sawe I never.

God saue our sovereygne lord the kynge And alle his royal sprynge For so noble a prince reyny[n]ge Sawe I never.”

[272] and large] Qy. “at large?” but it is by no means certain that “large” is the reading of the MS.

Page 148. v. 9. gardes] i. e. facings, trimmings.

v. 10. Jagged] See note, p. 163. v. 124: but here probably (as certainly in v. 54) something ornamental is meant.

—— al to-torne] See note, p. 100. v. 32.

v. 15. hostryes] i. e. inns.

v. 17. warkes] i. e. works.

v. 22. preves] i. e. proves; equivalent, perhaps, to—turn out well.

Page 149. v. 25. garded hose] i. e. faced, trimmed breeches.

v. 26. cornede] i. e. horned, pointed.

v. 29. questes] i. e. inquests.

v. 31. quitte] i. e. acquitted.

v. 50. crakers] i. e. vaunters, big talkers.

v. 54. cultyng and jagging] See note above, v. 10: cultyng, I believe, should be cuttyng.

Page 150. v. 57. knackes] i. e. trifles, toys, or perhaps tricks.

v. 58. naughty packes] An expression which occurs again in our author’s Garlande of Laurell, v. 188. vol. i. 369, is common in writers of a much later date, and is not yet altogether obsolete (see The Dialect of Craven, &c. in Noughty-Pack),—equivalent to worthless, loose persons (properly, it would seem, cheaters; see Richardson’s Dict. in v. Pack).

Page 151. v. 90. kepe tuche] i. e. keep contract, agreement.

v. 93. pore] i. e. poor.

v. 94. bordoure] i. e. border.

v. 101. bowyers] i. e. bow-makers.

v. 102. fletchers] i. e. arrow-makers.

v. 105. chepers] i. e. traffickers, sellers (compare the fourth stanza on the opposite page).

v. 109. alle sellers] i. e. ale-sellers.

v. 110. baudy] i. e. foul; see note, p. 161. v. 90.

—— sellers] i. e. cellars.

v. 113. pinkers] Some cant term which I do not understand.

Page 152. v. 121. vacabounde] i. e. vagabond.

v. 122. londe] i. e. land.

v. 123. bonde] i. e. bound.

v. 129. fleyng] i. e. flying.

v. 130. males] i. e. bags, wallets, pouches.

Page 152. v. 138. covetous] i. e. covetise, covetousness.

v. 141. carders] i. e. card-players.

v. 143. yl ticers] i. e. evil-enticers.

v. 145. lollers] “Apostaticus ... anglice a renegade or loller.” Ortus Vocab. ed. 1514. “Lollar heretique.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlv. (Table of Subst.). So at the conclusion of The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy, the term Lollard is used to signify a heretic: see Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 445 (note), ed. Laing. Compare too our author’s Replycacion, &c. v. 204. vol. i. 215.

v. 146. tollers] i. e. tellers, speakers.

v. 147. pollers] i. e. plunderers.

Page 153. v. 153. So many avayles] An expression which I do not understand: the poem just given from MS. Sloane has “So lytle avayles;” see p. 201, last stanza but two.

v. 154. geales] i. e. gaols.

v. 161. jackes] i. e. jackets.

v. 163. partlettes] i. e. ruffs.

v. 166. tucking hookes] Another expression which I do not understand.

v. 169. song] i. e. sung.

v. 178. brybors] i. e. thieves,—properly, pilferers. “Briboure. Manticulus.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499; and see note on our author’s Magnyfycence, v. 1242.

v. 182. everichone] i. e. every one.

Page 154. v. 186. convenient] i. e. fitting, suitable.

WARE THE HAUKE.

This poem was evidently called forth by a real event; but the name of the “hawking parson” has not transpired. According to Barclay, skill in hawking sometimes advanced its possessor to a benefice;

“But if I durst truth plainely vtter and expresse, This is the speciall cause of this inconuenience, That greatest fooles, and fullest of lewdnes, Hauing least wit, and simplest science, Are first promoted, and haue greatest reuerence, For if one can flatter, and beare a Hauke on his fist, He shalbe made Parson of Honington or of Clist.”

The Ship of Fooles, fol. 2. ed. 1570.

I may add, that afterwards, in the same work, when treating of indecorous behaviour at church, Barclay observes;

“Into the Church then comes another sotte, Without deuotion, ietting vp and downe, Or to be seene, and to showe his garded cote: Another on his fiste a Sparhauke or Fawcone,” &c.

fol. 85.

Page 155. v. 5. abused] i. e. vitiated, depraved.

“Be all yonge galandes of these abused sorte, Whiche in yonge age vnto the court resorte?”

Barclay’s Third Egloge, sig. C ii. ed. 1570.

v. 8. daw] i. e. simpleton, fool; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 16. him fro] i. e. from him.

Page 156. v. 22. dysgysed] i. e. guilty of unbecoming conduct: so again in our author’s Colyn Cloute;

“They mought be better aduysed Then to be so dysgysed.”

v. 581. vol. i. 333.

v. 30. apostrofacion] i. e. apostrophe.

v. 34. wrate] i. e. wrote.

v. 35. lewde] i. e. ignorant, worthless.

v. 42. Dis] Of which Skelton was rector; see Account of his Life and Writings.

v. 43. fonde] i. e. foolish.

—— fauconer] i. e. falconer.

v. 44. pawtenar] “Pautner [Pawtenere, MS. Harl. 221.]. Cassidile.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “Will. Brito: Cassidile dicitur pera Aucupis in modum reticuli facta, in quo ponit quos in casse, id est, rete, cepit.” Du Cange’s Gloss. in v. “Pera ... anglice a skryppe or a pawtner.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d.

v. 48. hogeous] i. e. hugeous, huge.

v. 49. auter] i. e. altar.

v. 50. craked] i. e. talked vauntingly.

Page 157. v. 55. yede] i. e. went.

v. 56. pray] i. e. prey.

v. 60. tyrid] A term in falconry: the hawk tired on what was thrown to her, when she pulled at and tore it.

v. 62. mutid] i. e. dunged.

—— a chase] Compare a passage in that curious tract, by Walter Smith, xii Mery Jests of the wyddow Edyth;

“Her potage & eke her ale were well poudred With an holsome influence that surgeons call Pouder Sinipari that wil make on cast his gall:”

in consequence of which, she is compelled suddenly to quit the supper-table, and,

“When that she was vp, she got her foorth apace, And er she had walkt xxx fote, she marked a chase And eftsones another, thrugh the Hal as she yede,” &c.

Sig. f iii. ed. 1573.

“A chase at tennis is that spot where a ball falls, beyond which the adversary must strike his ball to gain a point or chace. At long tennis, it is the spot where the ball leaves off rolling.” Douce’s Illust. of Shakespeare, i. 485. Compare our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 880. vol. ii. 53.

Page 157. v. 63. corporas] i. e. communion-cloth, the fine linen cloth used to cover the body, or consecrated elements.

v. 65. gambawdis] i. e. gambols, pranks.

v. 66. wexid] i. e. waxed.

—— gery] “Gerysshe, wylde or lyght heeded farouche.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxxxviii. (Table of Adiect.).

“Howe gery fortune furyous and wode.”

Lydgate’s Fall of Prynces, B. iii. leaf lxxvii. ed. Wayland.

“And as a swalowe geryshe of her flyghte, Twene slowe and swifte, now croked nowe vpright.”

Ibid. B. vi. leaf cxxxiiii.

Tyrwhitt explains “gery—changeable.” Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales. Richardson observes that in the present passage of Skelton “it seems to be giddy (sc.) with turning round.” Dict. in v.

v. 69. the rode loft] A loft (generally placed just over the passage out of the church into the chancel,) where stood the rood,—an image of Christ on the cross, with figures of the Virgin Mary and Saint John on each side of it: compare v. 126 of the present poem;

“His hawke then flew vppon The rode with Mary and John”.

v. 70. perkyd] i. e. perched.

v. 71. fauconer] i. e. falconer.

—— prest] i. e. ready.

v. 72. dow] i. e. pigeon.

v. 73. And cryed, Stow, stow, stow!] So Fansy, in our author’s Magnyfycence, exclaims to his hawk,

“Stowe, byrde, stowe, stowe! It is best I fede my hawke now.”

v. 980. vol. i. 257.

Compare Brathwait’s Merlin;

“But stow, bird, stow, See now the game’s afoote, And white-mail’d Nisus, He is flying to’t.”

Odes, p. 250, appended to Natures Embassie, 1621.

“Make them come from it to your fist, eyther much or little, with calling and chirping to them, saying: Towe, Towe, or Stowe, Stowe, as Falconers vse.” Turbervile’s Booke of Falconrie, &c. p. 182. ed. 1611.

Page 157. v. 76. lure] See note, p. 147. v. 1100.

v. 78. endude] “She [the hawk] Enduyth whan her meete in her bowelles falle to dygestyon.” Book of St. Albans, by Juliana Barnes, sig. C iii.

v. 79. ensaymed] i. e. purged from her grease. “Ensayme of an hawke,” says the lady just quoted, “is the greeys.” Sig. A v. See too “How you shall enseame a Hawke,” &c. in Turbervile’s Booke of Falconrie, &c. p. 115. ed. 1611.

v. 80. reclaymed] i. e. tamed; see note, p. 148. v. 1125.

v. 81. fawconer] i. e. falconer.

—— vnfayned] Either, unfeignedly (in the next line but six is “not fayne nor forge”) or un-glad, displeased: see note, p. 198. v. 30.

Page 158. v. 83. lyst] i. e. liking, inclination.

v. 85. loked] i. e. looked.

—— the frounce] Is a distemper in which a whitish foam gathers in wrinkles (frounces) about the hawk’s mouth and palate. “The Frounce proceedeth of moist and cold humours, which descend from the hawkes head to their palate and the roote of the tongue. And of that cold is engendred in the tongue the Frownce,” &c. Turbervile’s Booke of Falconrie, &c. p. 303. ed. 1611.

v. 87. the gorge] “Is that part of the Hawk which first receiveth the meat, and is called the Craw or Crop in other fowls.” Latham’s Faulconry, (Explan. of Words of Art), 1658.

v. 89. clap] i. e. stroke.

v. 91. sparred] i. e. fastened, shut (“boltyd and barryd” being in the next line).

v. 93. wyth a prety gyn]—gyn, i. e. contrivance.

“And with a prety gynne Gyue her husbande an horne.”

The boke of mayd Emlyn, &c. n. d. sig. A ii.

v. 100. On Sainct John decollacion] i. e. On the festival of the beheading of St. John.

Page 158. v. 103. secundum Sarum] So in Sir D. Lyndsay’s Complaynt of the Papingo;

“Suppose the geis and hennis suld cry alarum, And we sall serve secundum usum Sarum.”

Works, i. 327. ed. Chal.

The proverbial expression, “It is done secundum usum Sarum,” is thus explained by Fuller: “It began on this occasion; Many Offices or forms of service were used in severall Churches in England, as the Office of York, Hereford, Bangor, &c. which caused a deal of Confusion in Gods Worship, untill Osmond Bishop of Sarum, about the year of our Lord 1090, made that Ordinall or Office which was generally received all over England, so that Churches thence forward easily understood one another, all speaking the same words in their Liturgy. It is now applyed to those persons which do, and Actions which are formally and solemnly done, in so Regular a way by Authentick Precedents, and Paterns of unquestionable Authority, that no just exception can be taken thereat.” Worthies (Wilt-Shire), p. 146. ed. 1662.

v. 104. Marche harum] i. e. March hare.

v. 106. let] i. e. leave, desist.

v. 107. fet] i. e. fetch.

v. 110. to halow there the fox]—halow, i. e. halloo. “Men blewe the hornes and cryed and halowed the foxe.” Reynard the Fox, sig. h 5. ed. 1481.

v. 112. Boke] i. e. Book.

Page 159. v. 114. lectryne] “Lecterne to syng at.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xliiii. (Table of Subst.).

“Sum syng at the lectorne with long eares lyke an asse.”

Bale’s Kynge Johan, p. 27. Camd. ed.

Or simply, a reading-desk: see note on v. 120.

v. 116. With, troll, cytrace, and trouy] So in Apius and Virginia, by R. B., 1575;

“With hey tricke, how trowle, trey trip, and trey trace.”

Sig. B.

v. 117. hankin bouy] Compare Thersytes, n. d.;

“And we wyll haue minstrelsy that shall pype hankyn boby.”

p. 62. Roxb. ed.

and Nash’s Haue with you to Saffron-walden, 1596; “No vulgar respects haue I, what Hoppenny Hoe and his fellow Hankin Booby thinke of mee.” Sig. K 2: and Brome’s Joviall Crew, 1652; “he makes us even sick of his sadness, that were wont to see my Ghossips cock to day, mould Cocklebread, daunce clutterdepouch and Hannykin booby, binde barrels, or do any thing before him, and he would laugh at us.” Act ii. sc. i. sig. D 2.

Page 159. v. 119. fawconer] i. e. falconer.

vv. 120, 121. gospellers ... pystillers] “Gospellar that syngeth the gospell.” “Pysteller [Epistler] that syngeth the masse.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fols. xxxvii., liiii. (Table of Subst.). But in our author’s Phyllyp Sparowe we find,

“Shal rede the Gospell at masse ... Shal rede there the pystell.”

vv. 423, 5. vol. i. 64.

and see Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. in vv. Gospeller, Epistler.

v. 125. gydynge] “He controlled my lyuynge and gydynge.... mores.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. N vi. ed. 1530.

“Wise women has wayis, and wonderfull gydingis.”

Dunbar’s tale of The Tua Maryit Wemen and the Wedo,—Poems, i. 77. ed. Laing.

v. 127. The rode with Mary and John] See note on v. 69. p. 206.

v. 128. fon] i. e. fool.

v. 129. daw] i. e. simpleton; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 137. hawkis bels] i. e. the bells attached to the feet of the hawk.

v. 138. losels] i. e. good-for-nothing fellows,—the same as lorels, which has several times occurred before (see note, p. 132. v. 488, &c.): “Lorell or losell or lurdeyn.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “Lorrell or losell.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlv. (Table of Subst.).

v. 142. snappar] i. e. stumble; but see note, p. 92. v. 4.

v. 144. loke] i. e. look.

Page 160. v. 146. bokis] i. e. books.

v. 149. mayden Meed] See the allegorical account of Meed in Pierce Plowman; where we find,

“That is mede the maid, quod she, hath noyed me full oft.”

Sig. B iv. ed. 1561.

and again, “Saue mede the mayde,” &c. sig. C iii. “Now is mede the mayde,” &c. ibid.

v. 158. toke] i. e. took.

v. 159. this] Perhaps for thus: compare v. 181.

v. 164. Exodi] i. e. the book of Exodus.

“In Exodi ben these mencions.”

Lydgate’s Fall of Prynces, B. i. leaf vii. ed. Wayland.

Page 160. v. 166. Regum] i. e. The Third, now called The First, Book of Kings.

Page 161. v. 178. the rode] See note on v. 69. p. 206.

v. 181. this] i. e. thus; see note, p. 86. v. 38.

v. 183. dowues donge] i. e. pigeon’s dung.

v. 194. croked] i. e. crooked.

—— Cacus] See extract from The Recuyel of the Historyes of Troy, in note, p. 213. v. 23.

v. 196. Nother] i. e. Neither.

—— Olibrius] Was “the provost” by whose order Saint Margaret, after being put to sundry tortures, was beheaded at Antioch. Golden Legende, fol. ccxiiii. sqq. ed. 1483. See also The Legend of Seynt Mergrete, printed from the Auchinleck MS., in Turnbull’s Legendæ Catholicæ. Most readers will recollect Mr. Milman’s dramatic poem, The Martyr of Antioch.

v. 198.

—— Phalary, Rehersed in Valery]

i. e. Phalaris, recorded in Valerius Maximus, lib. iii. cap. iii. (where it is related that the Agrigentines, at the instigation of Zeno Eleates, stoned the tyrant Phalaris to death. “’Tis plain,” says Bentley, “he mistakes Phalaris for Nearchus.” _Diss. upon the Ep. of Phalaris_,—Works, i. 241. ed. Dyce), and lib. ix. cap. ii.

v. 200. Sardanapall] So our early writers often spell his name;

“Last of all was Sardanapall.”

Lydgate’s Fall of Prynces, Boke ii. leaf L. ed. Wayland.

Page 162. v. 204. Egeas] Is mentioned with various other evil personages in The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy,

“Herod thy uthir eme, and grit Egeass.”

Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 86. ed. Laing.

and in the Second Part of Marlowe’s Tamburlaine;

“The headstrong jades of Thrace Alcides tamed, That King Egeus fed with humane flesh.”

Last sc. of act iv. sig. G 3. ed. 1606.

v. 205. Syr Pherumbras] See note, p. 178. v. 15.

v. 211. poll by poll] i. e. head by head,—one by one.

“And ye shall here the names poll by poll.”

Cocke Lorelles bote, sig. B ii.

v. 212. Arystobell] i. e. (I suppose) Aristobulus,—who, having succeeded his father Hyrcanus as high-priest and governor of Judea, assumed the title of king,—cast his mother into prison, and starved her to death,—caused his brother Antigonus to be assassinated,—and died after reigning a year. See Prideaux’s Connect. Part ii. B. vi.

Page 162. v. 214. miscreantys] i. e. infidels. “These thre kynges were the fyrst of myscreauntes that byleued on cryst.” The three kynges of Coleyne, sig. C ii. ed. 1526.

v. 216. Sowden] i. e. Soldan, Sultan.

v. 225. pekysh] See note, p. 129. v. 409.

v. 228. crokid] i. e. crooked.

v. 230. this] i. e. thus; as before, see v. 181.

—— ouerthwarted] i. e. cavilled, wrangled. “To hafte or ouerthwarte in a matter, to wrangle.” Baret’s Alvearie in v.

v. 231. proces] i. e. subject-matter; see notes, p. 143. v. 735. p. 146. v. 969. p. 194. v. 157.

Page 163. v. 233. loke] i. e. look.

v. 234. boke] i. e. book.

v. 239. rehers] i. e. tell, declare.

v. 240. sentence] i. e. meaning.

v. 241. scholys] i. e. schools.

v. 242. folys] i. e. fools.

v. 244. Dawcocke] See note, p. 113. v. 301.

Page 164. v. 249. fista] i. e. fist.

v. 250. you lista] i. e. you please.

v. 260. Dialetica] i. e. Dialectica.

v. 264. forica] Is Latin for a public jakes; and compare vv. 62, 183: but I cannot determine the meaning of it here.

v. 270. Jacke Harys] Must not be mistaken for the name of the person who called forth this piece; we have been already told that he “shall be nameless,” v. 38. So in our author’s Magnyfycence, Courtly Abusyon terms Cloked Colusyon “cankard Jacke Hare.” v. 768. vol. i. 250. There is a poem by Lydgate (at least attributed to him) concerning a personage called Jak Hare, of which the first stanza is as follows:

“A froward knave plainly to discryve And a sluggard plainly to declare A precious knave that cast hym never to thryve His mowth wele wet his slevis right thredebare A tourne broche a boy for wat of ware With louryng face noddyng and slombryng Of newe cristened called Jak Hare Whiche of a bolle can pluk out the lyneng.”

MS. Harl. 2251. fol. 14.

Since the above note was written, the ballad on Jack Hare has been edited from MS. Lansd. 699. fol. 88. by Mr. Halliwell, among Lydgate’s Minor Poems, p. 52 (printed for the Percy Society). “The original of this,” says Mr. H. (p. 267), “is an Anglo-Norman poem of the 13th century, in MS. Digb. Oxon. 86. fol. 94, entitled ‘De Maimound mal esquier.’”

Page 164. v. 274. federis] i. e. feathers.

Page 165. v. 284. fisty] i. e. fist.

v. 290. Apostata] This form, as an English word, continued in use long after the time of Skelton.

v. 291. Nestorianus] “Nestoriani quidam heretici qui beatam mariam non dei, sed hominis dicunt genitricem.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d.: but here Nestorianus seems to be put for Nestorius, the founder of the sect.

v. 300. This] i. e. Thus; as before, see v. 181.

v. 301. Dys church ye thus deprauyd] To deprave generally means—to vilify in words (as in our author’s Colyn Cloute, “The Churche to depraue,” v. 515. vol. i. 330); but (and see the poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. v. 191. vol. ii. 73) here deprauyd must be equivalent to—defiled.

v. 305. Concha] “Concha recensetur vulgo inter vasa ac ministeria sacra, cujus varii fuere usus.” Du Cange’s Gloss.

v. 306. sonalia] i. e. the bells attached to the hawk’s feet.

Page 166. v. 313.

Et relis et ralis, Et reliqualis]

Occurs again in our author’s Garlande of Laurell, v. 1216. vol. i. 410.

v. 315. Galis] i. e. Galicia.

v. 320. chalys] i. e. chalice.

v. 324. Masyd] i. e. Bewildered, confounded.

v. 325. styth] i. e. anvil.

v. 327. daw] i. e. simpleton; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

Page 167. Quod] i. e. Quoth.

EPITAPHE, &c.

v. 3. this] i. e. these.

v. 4. queed] i. e. evil. The word is common in our earliest poetry:

“That euer schuld haue don him qued.”

Arthour and Merlin, p. 51. ed. Abbotsf.

A DEUOUTE TRENTALE, &c.

trentale] i. e. properly, a service of thirty masses for the dead, usually celebrated on as many different days.

Page 170. v. 44. I faith, dikkon thou crue] See note, p. 115. v. 360.

v. 46. knauate] i. e. knave.

v. 47. rode] i. e. rood, cross; see note, p. 206. v. 69.

v. 53. fote ball] i. e. foot-ball.

Page 171. v. 61. Wit[h], hey, howe, rumbelowe] See note, p. 110. v. 252.

Page 172. v. 23.

Crudelisque Cacus barathro, peto, sit tumulatus]

To readers of Skelton’s days Cacus was known not so much from the 8th book of Virgil’s Æneid, as from The Recuyel of the Historyes of Troy, (a translation by Caxton from the French of Raoul le Fevre), where his story is related at considerable length, and with great variation from the classical fable: “In the cyte of Cartagene, a kynge and geant regned. named Cacus whiche was passyng euyll and full of tyrannye, and had slayn by his cursidnes the kynges of Aragon and of Nauerre. their wyues and their children And possessid her seignouryes and also helde in subieccion alle the contrey into ytaly,” &c. Book ii. ed. 1471—about the middle of the volume, which is printed without paging or signatures. His death is afterwards thus described: “But hercules ranne after and retayned hym And enbraced hym in his armes so harde that he myght not meue And brought hym agayn And bare hym vnto a depe pytte that was in the caue where he had caste in all ordures and filthe, hercules cam vnto this fowle pytte that the grekes had founden And planted cacus there Inne. his heed dounward from on hye vnto the ordure benethe, Than the ytaliens cam aboute the pitte and caste so many stones vpon hym that he deyde there myserably. Suche was the ende of the poure kynge Cacus. he deyde in an hooll full of ordure and of styngkynge filthe.”

v. 28. best] i. e. beast.

Page 173. Apud Trumpinton scriptum per Curatum ejusdem, &c.] A passage wrongly understood by Skelton’s biographers: see Account of his Life and Writings.

Page 174.

Diligo rustincum cum portant bis duo quointum, Et cantant delos est mihi dulce melos]

The Rev. J. Mitford proposes to read—

Diligo rusticulum cum portat Dis duo quintum, Et cantat Delos, est mihi dulce melos:

understanding duo quintum to mean decimum, a tenth or tithe, and explaining the whole, I like the peasant when he brings his tithe to Dis, and sings “Delos,”—pays it from motives of devotion.

LAMENTATIO URBIS NORVICEN.

In 1507, the city of Norwich was “almost utterly defaced” by two dreadful fires: the first broke out on 25th April, and lasted for four days; the second began 4th June, and continued for two days and a night. See Blomefield’s Hist. of Norfolk, ii. 131. ed. fol.

IN BEDEL, &C.

Page 175.

Mortuus est asinus, Qui pinxit mulum]

“Mulum de asino pingere, Dici potest, quando exemplar et res efficta non multum inter se distant; vel quando ineptiæ ineptiis repræsentantur, vel mendacia mendaciis astruuntur. Magna similitudo inter asinum et mulum est. Tertullianus. [Adv. Valent. cap. xix.].” Erasmi Adagia, p. 1663. ed. 1606.

EPITAPHIUM IN HENRICUM SEPTIMUM.

Page 178. Henry the Seventh died April 21st, 1509, in the 24th year of his reign (see Sir H. Nicolas’s Chron. of Hist. pp. 333, 350. sec. ed.), and in the 52d (according to some authorities, the 53d) year of his age; and was interred in the splendid chapel which bears his name.

“Here lieth buried in one of the stateliest Monuments of Europe, both for the Chappell, and for the Sepulchre, the body of Henry the seuenth.... This glorious rich Tombe is compassed about with verses, penned by that Poet Laureat (as he stiles himselfe) and Kings Orator, Iohn Skelton: I will take onely the shortest of his Epitaphs or Eulogiums, and most to the purpose.

Septimus hic situs est Henricus, gloria Regum Cunctorum, ipsius qui tempestate fuerunt, Ingenio atque opibus gestarum et nomine rerum, Accessere quibus nature dona benigne: Frontis honos, facies augusta, heroica forma, Junctaque ei suauis coniux, perpulchra, pudica, Et fecunda fuit: felices prole parentes, Henricum quibus octauum terra Anglia debes.”

Weever’s Anc. Fun. Mon., p. 476. ed. 1631.

But the above lines are not in Marshe’s ed. of Skelton’s Workes; nor are they assigned to him in Reges, Reginæ, Nobiles, et alii in Ecclesia Collegiata B. Petri Westmonasterii sepulti, &c. 1603,—where they occur, sig. D.

—— ad sinceram contemplationem reverendi in Christo patris ac domini, domini Johannis Islippæ abbatis Westmonasteriensis] So Skelton again in his Replycacion, &c. “ad cujus auspicatissimam contemplationem, sub memorabili prelo gloriosæ immortalitatis, præsens pagella felicitatur, &c.” vol. i. 206; and in his Garlande of Laurell,—

“Of my ladys grace at the contemplacyoun, Owt of Frenshe into Englysshe prose, Of Mannes Lyfe the Peregrinacioun, He dyd translate,” &c.

v. 1219. vol. i. 410.

Compare also Hollinshed; “At the contemplation of this cardinall, the king lent to the emperour a great summe of monie.” Chron. (Hen. viii.) vol. iii. 839. ed. 1587. Concerning the Abbot Islip, see Account of Skelton and his Writings.

Page 179. v. 19. sua] Used for ejus.

—— Leo candidior Rubeum necat ense Leonem] Leo candidior, i. e. the Earl of Surrey, whose badge was a White Lion: Rubeum Leonem, i. e. King James the Fourth, slain at Flodden, who bore the royal arms of Scotland, a Red Lion. See note on the poem Against the Scottes, p. 220. v. 135.

TETRASTICHON VERITATIS.

Page 181. v. 1. cuprum] i. e. cupreum. “The Tomb itself [principally of black marble], with the metal statues which lie upon it, and the beautiful casts in alto-relievo [of copper gilt], which ornament the sides, were executed by the celebrated Italian artist Pietro Torrigiano ... for the sum of 1500_l._ Its surrounding Screen, or ‘Closure’ [of gilt brass and copper], which is altogether in a different style of workmanship, though almost equally curious, was, most probably, both designed and wrought by English artizans.” Neale’s Account of Henry the Seventh’s Chapel, pp. 54, 59.

AGAINST THE SCOTTES.

The battle of Flodden, one of the most disastrous events in Scottish history, has been rendered so familiar to readers of our own day by the poem of Marmion, that a particular account of it here is unnecessary. It took place on September 9th, 1513. The English army was commanded by the Earl of Surrey [created Duke of Norfolk the February following]; the Scottish by their rash and gallant monarch James the Fourth, who perished in the field amid heaps of his slaughtered nobles and gentlemen.

Page 182. v. 2. tratlynge] i. e. prattling, idle talk.

v. 5. Lo, these fonde sottes, &c.]—fonde, i. e. foolish. This passage resembles a rhyme made in reproach of the Scots in the reign of Edward the First:

“These scaterand Scottes Holde we for sottes,” &c.

Fabyan’s Chron. vol. ii. fol. 140. ed. 1559.

Page 182. v. 11. Branxton more] i. e. Brankston Moor.

v. 12. stowre] Means generally—hardy, stout; here perhaps it is equivalent to—obstinate: but in Palsgrave we find “Stowre of conversation estourdy.” Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xcvi. (Table of Adiect.).

v. 22. closed in led] The body of James, disfigured with wounds, was found the day after the battle; it was carried to Berwick, and ultimately interred in the priory of Shene: see Weaver’s Anc. Fun. Mon., p. 394. ed. 1631. After the dissolution of that house, according to Stow’s account, the body, enclosed in lead, was thrown into one of the lumber-rooms; and the head, which some workmen hewed off “for their foolish pleasure,” was brought to London and buried in St. Michael’s Church, Wood Street: Survey, B. iii. 81. ed. 1720.

Page 183. v. 26. byllys] i. e. bills,—a sort of beaked pikes,—battle-axes.

v. 30. Folys and sottys] i. e. Fools and sots.

v. 32. crake] i. e. vaunt.

v. 33. To face, to brace] So Borde in his Boke of knowlege introduces a Scotchman saying,

“I wyll boost my selfe, I wyll crake and face.”

Sig. G 2. reprint.

Compare our author’s Magnyfycence;

“Cl. Col. By God, I tell you, I wyll not be out facyd. By the masse, I warant thé, I wyll not be bracyd.”

v. 2247. vol. i. 299.

and his Garlande of Laurell;

“Some facers, some bracers, some make great crackis.”

v. 189. vol. i. 369.

In Hormanni Vulgaria we find, “He faceth the matter, and maketh great crakes. Tragice loquitur, et ampullosa verba proiicit.” Sig. P iiii. ed. 1530. “He is not aferde to face or brace with any man of worshyp. Nullius viri magnitudinem allatrare dubitat.” Sig. O ii. And in Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530, “I face as one dothe that brauleth or falleth out with a nother to make hym a frayde, Ie contrefays des mines ... I dare nat passe by his dore he faceth and braceth me so: ... il contrefait tellement des mines.” fol. ccxxx. (Table of Verbes). “I Brace or face, Ie braggue. He braced and made a bracyng here afore the dore as thoughe he wolde haue kylled.... Il braggoyt,” &c. fol. clxxi. (Table of Verbes).

Page 183. v. 36. ouerthwart] i. e. cross, perverse, wrangling.

v. 41. quayre] i. e. quire,—pamphlet, book.

v. 51. sumner] i. e. summoner (it generally meant what we now call apparitor).

v. 52. greyth] i. e. agreeth, suiteth.

v. 53. Our kynge of Englande for to syght]—syght, i. e. cite. While Henry viii. was encamped before Terouenne, James iv. sent his chief herald to him, with a letter (which may be found in Hall’s Chron. (Hen. viii.), fol. xxix. ed. 1548), reckoning up the various injuries and insults he had received from Henry, and containing what amounted to a declaration of war, unless the English monarch should desist from hostilities against the French king.

Page 184. v. 57. kynge Koppynge] Compare the Coliphizacio, where Cayphas exclaims—

“Therfor I shalle the name that ever shalle rew the, Kyng Copyn in oure game,” &c.

Towneley Mysteries, p. 194,—

the Glossary informing us that “A coppin is a certain quantity of worsted yarn wound on a spindle, and the spindle then extracted,”—which may be true, though it does not explain the passage. Some game must be alluded to.

v. 59. Hob Lobbyn of Lowdean] So again our author in Speke, Parrot;

“Hop Lobyn of Lowdeon wald haue e byt of bred.”

v. 74. vol. ii. 5.

Perhaps there is an allusion to some song or ballad: Lowdean is, I apprehend, Lothian.

v. 60. what good ye can] See note, p. 190. v. 23.

v. 61. Locrian] i. e. Loch Ryan—a large bay in Wigtonshire, which by approximating to the bay of Luce, forms the peninsula called the Rinns of Galloway. It is mentioned by Barbour;

“And at Lochriane in Galloway He schippyt, with all his menye.”

The Bruce, B. xi. v. 36. ed. Jam.

In the poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. Skelton speaks of the Scots

“Of Locryan, And the ragged ray Of Galaway.”

v. 21. vol. ii. 68.

and in his verses against Dundas, he calls him

“Dundas of Galaway.”

v. 29. vol. i. 193.

See too v. 109 of the present poem. Our author uses Scottish names at random.

Page 184. v. 62. sence] i. e. cense.

v. 63. Saint Ionis towne] i. e. Perth. Compare Langtoft’s Chronicle, p. 333. ed. Hearne; Minot’s Poems, p. 6. ed. Ritson; and Barbour’s Bruce, B. ii. v. 53. ed. Jam. It is said that the Picts, after their conversion to Christianity, or the Scots, after their king had succeeded to the Pictish throne, consecrated the church and bridge of Perth to St. John the Baptist; and that hence in process of time many persons gave to the town the name of St. Johnston: see Jamieson’s note on the passage last referred to.

v. 72. tragedy] See note, p. 194. v. 155.

v. 79. enbybe] i. e. wet.

v. 83. Irysh keteringes]—Irysh, i. e. Highlanders and Islesmen:

“Than gert he all the Irschery That war in till his cumpany, Off Arghile, and the Ilis alsua,” &c.

Barbour’s Bruce, B. xiii. v. 233. ed. Jam.

—keteringes (see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v. Cateranes), i. e. marauders who carried off cattle, corn, &c.

Page 185. v. 86. armony] i. e. harmony.

v. 89. me adres] i. e. apply myself.

v. 90. proces] i. e. story; see notes, p. 143. v. 735. p. 146. v. 969. p. 194. v. 157. p. 211. v. 231.

v. 91. Jocky my jo] Perhaps a fragment of some song or ballad. In Scotch, Jocky is the diminutive of Jock, the abbreviation of John: jo is sweetheart, dear, (joy.)

v. 92. summond] See note on v. 53, preceding page.

v. 97. to] i. e. too.

v. 98. harrold] i. e. herald: see note on v. 53.

v. 100. pye] i. e. magpie.

v. 101. Syr skyrgalyard] So again our author in his Speke, Parrot;

“With, skyregalyard, prowde palyard, vaunteperler, ye prate.”

v. 427. vol. ii. 21.

and in his poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c.;

“Suche a skyrgaliarde.”

v. 168. vol. ii. 73.

“William Johnstone of Wamphray, called the Galliard, was a noted freebooter.... His nom de guerre seems to have been derived from the dance called The Galliard. The word is still used in Scotland to express an active, gay, dissipated character.” Scott’s Minst. of the Scott. Bord. i. 305. ed. 1810. To skir (under which Richardson in his Dict. cites Skelton’s term “a skyrgaliarde”) is to scour, to move rapidly.

Page 185. v. 101. skyt] i. e. hasty, precipitate.

v. 103. layd] “I Laye for me or alledge to make my mater good.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cclxxv. (Table of Verbes).

v. 104. not worth a fly] A common expression in our early poetry;

“The goos saide then al this nys worth a file.”

Chaucer’s Ass. of Foules,—Workes, fol. 235. ed. 1602.

v. 106. brother] James married Margaret sister of Henry the Eighth.

v. 109. Gup] See note, p. 99. v. 17.

—— Syr Scot of Galawey] See note on v. 61. p. 217.

v. 110. fall] i. e. fallen.

v. 111. Male vryd] i. e. ill-fortuned (Fr. malheur).

Page 186. v. 117. Scipione] i. e. Scipio.

v. 119. Thoughe ye vntruly your father haue slayne] James iii. was slain by a ruffian whose name is not certainly known, under circumstances of great atrocity, in 1488, in a miller’s cottage, immediately after his flight from the battle of Sauchie-burn, where his son (then in his 17th year) had appeared in arms against him. The mind of James iv. was haunted by remorse for his father’s death; and he wore in penance an iron girdle, the weight of which he every year increased.

v. 121. Dunde, Dunbar] Scottish names used at random: so again in our author’s verses against Dundas, “Dunde, Dunbar,” v. 60. vol. i. 194; and in his poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. “Dunbar, Dunde,” v. 24. vol. ii. 68.

v. 122. Pardy] i. e. par dieu, verily.

v. 124. shent] i. e. destroyed, brought to disgrace or punishment.

v. 128. checkmate] See note, p. 96. v. 29.

v. 129. the castell of Norram] In taking the Castle of Norham, James wasted some days, previous to the battle of Flodden, while he ought to have employed his forces in more important enterprises.

v. 130. to sone] i. e. too soon.

v. 132. bylles] See note on v. 26. p. 216.

v. 133. Agaynst you gaue so sharpe a shower] Shower is often applied by our old writers to the storm, assault, encounter of battle:

“The sharpe shoures and the cruel rage Abyde fully of this mortall werre.”

Lydgate’s Warres of Troy, B. iv. sig. Y iiii. ed. 1555.

“He was slawe yn sharpe showre.”

Kyng Roberd of Cysylle,—MS. Harl. 1701. fol. 94.

and see our author’s poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. v. 240. vol. ii. 75.

Page 186. v. 135.

The Whyte Lyon, there rampaunt of moode, He ragyd and rent out your hart bloode; He the Whyte, and ye the Red]

The White Lion was the badge of the Earl of Surrey, derived from his ancestors the Mowbrays. His arms were Gules, on a bend between six cross croslets, fitchy, argent: after the battle of Flodden, the king granted to him “an honourable augmentation of his arms, to bear on the bend thereof: in an escutcheon Or, a demi Lion rampant, pierced through the mouth with an arrow, within a double tressure flory and counterflory Gules; which tressure is the same as surrounds the royal arms of Scotland.” Collins’s Peerage, i. 77. ed. Brydges.

“If Scotlands Coat no marke of Fame can lend, That Lyon plac’d in our bright siluer-bend, Which as a Trophy beautifies our shield, Since Scottish bloud discoloured Floden-Field; When the proud Cheuiot our braue Ensigne bare, As a rich Jewell in a Ladies haire, And did faire Bramstons neighbouring vallies choke With clouds of Canons fire-disgorged smoke.”

Epistle from H. Howard Earle of Surrey to Geraldine,—Drayton’s Poems, p. 86 [88], ed. 8vo. n. d.

“George Buchanan reporteth that the Earle of Surrey gaue for his badge a Siluer Lion, which from Antiquitie belonged to that name, tearing in pieces a Lion prostrate Gules; and withall, that this which hee termes insolence, was punished in Him and his Posteritie,” &c. Drayton’s note on the preceding passage.

—— the Red] The royal arms of Scotland.

v. 139. quyt] i. e. requited.

v. 141. swete Sainct George, our ladies knyght] “Our Lady’s knight” is the common designation of St. George: so in a song written about the same time as the present poem, Cott. MS. Domit. A. xviii. fol. 248; in Sir Beues of Hamtoun, p. 102. Maitl. ed. &c. &c.

Page 186. v. 144. His grace beyng out of the way] i. e. Henry the Eighth being in France: see note on v. 53. p. 217.

v. 148. ye lost your sworde] The sword and dagger, worn by James at the battle of Flodden, are preserved in the college of Heralds. An engraving of them is prefixed to Weber’s ed. of the poem, Flodden Field.

Page 187. v. 149. buskyd] i. e. hied.

—— Huntley bankys] So again in our author’s verses against Dundas;

“That prates and prankes On Huntley bankes.”

v. 57. vol. i. 194.

and in his Why come ye not to Courte;

“They [the Scottes] play their olde pranckes After Huntley bankes.”

v. 263. vol. ii. 35.

and in his poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c.;

“Of the Scottes ranke Of Huntley banke.”

v. 18. vol. ii. 68.

Here again Skelton uses a Scottish name at random. The Huntly-bank, where, according to the charming old poem, Thomas the Rhymer met the Queen of Faery, is situated on one of the Eldoun hills.

v. 153.

Of the kyng of Nauerne ye might take heed, Vngraciously how he doth speed: In double delynge so he did dreme, That he is kynge without a reme; And, for example ye would none take, &c.]

—reme, i. e. realm. In a letter despatched from the camp before Terouenne, in answer to the epistle of the Scottish king (see note on v. 53. p. 217), Henry says; “And yf the example of the kyng of Nauarre beynge excluded from his royalme for assistence gyuen to the Frenche kyng cannot restrayne you from this vnnaturall dealynge, we suppose ye shall haue lyke assistence of the sayde Frenche kynge as the kyng of Nauarre hath nowe: Who is a kynge withoute a realme, &c.” Hall’s Chron. (Henry viii.) fol. xxxi. ed. 1548. James, however, never received this letter: he was slain before the herald who bore it could procure a passage from Flanders.

v. 158. brake] See note, p. 168. v. 324.

v. 161. Your beard so brym as bore at bay]—brym, i. e. fierce,—rugged, bristly. James wore “his Beerde somethynge longe.” Lelandi Collect. iv. 285. ed. 1770.

v. 162. Your Seuen Systers, that gun so gay] Lindsay of Pitscottie informs us that when James was making preparations for his fatal expedition against England “he had sewin great cannones out of the castle of Edinburgh, quhilkis was called the Sewin Sisteris, castin be Robert Borthik; and thrie maister gunneris, furnisched with pouder and leid to thame at thair pleasure.” Cron. of Scotl. i. 266. ed. 1814. These canons were named Sisters because they were all of the same great size and fine fabric. Concerning Borthwick, master of the artillery to James, the following mention is made by Lesley: “Rex amplo stipendio Robertum Borthuik, insignem tormenti fabricandi artificem donauit, vt tormenta bellica maiora in arce Edinburgensi aliquamdiu conflaret: quorum permulta hodie in Scotia reperiuntur, hoc versu incisa:

“Machina sum Scoto Borthuik fabricata Roberto.”

De or. mor. et reb. gest. Scot. p. 353. ed. 1578.

Page 187. v. 169. The Popes curse gaue you that clap]—clap, i. e. stroke. James died under a recent sentence of excommunication for infringing the pacification with England.

v. 170. Of the out yles the roughe foted Scottes] i. e. the rough-footed Scots of the Hebrides: the epithet rough-footed was given to them, because they wore, during the frost, a rude sort of shoe, made of undressed deer-skin, with the hairy side outwards; see MS. quoted in Pinkerton’s Hist. of Scotland, ii. 397.

v. 171. the bottes] i. e. the worms.

v. 172. dronken dranes]—dranes, i. e. drones. The Editor of Skelton’s Workes, 1736, printed “dronken Danes;” and Weber (Flodden Field, p. 276) proposes the same alteration; but though the Danes (as the readers of our early dramatists know) were notorious for deep potations, the text is right. Our author has again, in his poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c.;

“We set nat a prane By suche a dronken drane.”

v. 163. vol. ii. 72.

“Drane. Fucus.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. And compare Pierce Plowman’s Crede;

“And right as dranes doth nought but drinketh vp the huny.”

Sig. D i. ed. 1561.

v. 175. sumner] See note on v. 51. p. 217.

Page 188. v. 177. to] i. e. too.

Quod] i. e. Quoth.

per desertum Sin] “Profectique sunt de Elim, et venit omnis multitudo filiorum Israel in desertum Sin, quod est inter Elim et Sinai,” &c. Exod. xvi. l. (Vulgate).

VNTO DIUERS PEOPLE THAT REMORD THIS RYMYNGE, &c.

Page 188. remord] See note, p. 193. v. 101.

v. 7. makynge] i. e. composing, composition.

v. 8. Their males therat shakynge]—males, i. e. bags, wallets: compare our author’s Colyn Cloute;

“I purpose to shake oute All my connyng bagge.”

v. 50. vol. i. 313.

v. 14. brother] See note, p. 219. v. 106.

Page 189. v. 21. pyketh mood] i. e. grows angry, picks a quarrel.

v. 26. recrayed] i. e. recreant, false (the idea of cowardice is certainly not implied here).

v. 30. died excomunycate] See note, p. 222. v. 169.

v. 37. ouerthwartes] i. e. cross, perverse objections, cavils.

CHORUS DE DIS, &c.

Dis] Of which Skelton was rector; see Account of his Life and Writings.

Page 190. vv. 17, 18. Leo Candidus ... Leo tu Rubeus] See note, p. 220. v. 135.

CHORUS DE DIS, &c. SUPER TRIUMPHALI VICTORIA CONTRA GALLOS, &c.

These verses (placed immediately after the poems on the Battle of Flodden, in the eds.) relate to an event which happened about the same period. Henry viii. having in person invaded France, in conjunction with the Emperor Maximilian, they proceeded to the siege of Terouenne. An attempt on the part of Louis to relieve the town occasioned the Battle of the Spurs, August 16, 1513, in which the Duke of Longueville, Clermont, &c. were made prisoners. Terouenne surrendered to Henry on the 22d of that month, and its defences were razed to the ground on the 27th. In these dates I follow Lingard.

Page 191. v. 13. Gloria Cappadocis, divæ milesque Mariæ] i. e. St. George, whom our author has before termed “our Ladies knyght,” see note, p. 220. v. 141. During this war, the Emperor, to flatter Henry’s vanity, wore his badge of the red rose, assumed the cross of St. George, and accepted a hundred crowns daily as the soldier of the English king.

VILITISSIMUS SCOTUS DUNDAS, &c.

“Georgius Dundas, Græce Latineque doctissimus habitus, Equitum Hierosolymitanorum intra Regnum Scotiæ præfectus, sed prius Aberdoniæ Professor. Scripsit diligenter, et laboriose. Historiam Equitum Hierosolymitanorum, lib. ii. Claruit anno MDXX.” Dempsteri Hist. Eccles. Gentis Scotorum, &c. 1627, p. 234. This George Dundas was, I apprehend, the person who excited the wrath of Skelton.

Page 192. v. 1.

Anglicus a tergo caudam gerit, &c.]

These three hexameters are, it would seem, the composition of Dundas.

“After this saynt austyn entryd in to dorsetshyre, and came in to a towne where as were wycked peple & refused his doctryne and prechyng vtterly & droof hym out of the towne castyng on hym the tayles of thornback or like fisshes, wherfore he besought almyghty god to shewe his jugement on them, and god sente to them a shameful token, for the chyldren that were borne after in that place had tayles as it is sayd, tyl they had repented them. It is sayd comynly that thys fyl at strode in kente, but blessyd be god at this day is no suche deformyte.” The lyf of saynt Austyn,—Golden Legende, fol. clxxiiii. ed. 1483. See too Nova Legenda Anglie (by Capgrave), 1516. fol. xxx.

“Anglos quosdam caudatos esse.

Svspicabar quod de Anglorum caudis traditur, nugatorium esse, nec hoc meminissem loco, nisi ipsi Anglicarum rerum conditores id serio traderent: nasci videlicet homines, instar brutorum animalium caudatos apud Strodum Angliæ vicum, ad ripam fluuii Meduciæ, qui Roffensem, siue Rocestrensem agrum alluit. Narrantque eius vici incolas, iumento quod D. Thomas Canthuariensis episcopus insideret, per ludibrium caudam amputasse, ob idque diuina vltione adnatas incolis eius loci caudas: vt in hos fatidici regis carmen torqueri possit: Percussit eos (inquit) in posteriora eorum, opprobrium sempiternum dedit illis. De huiusmodi caudis quidam in hunc modum lusit:

Fertur equo Thomæ caudam obtruncasse Britannos, Hinc Anglos caudas constat hubere breueis.”

Anglicæ Descriptionis compendium, Per Gulielmum Paradinum Cuyselliensem, 1545. p. 69.

On the proverbial expression Kentish Long-Tailes, Fuller has the following remarks. “Let me premise, that those are much mistaken who first found this Proverb on a Miracle of Austin the Monk.... I say they are much mistaken, for the Scæne of this Lying Wonder was not laied in any Part of Kent, but pretended many miles off, nigh Cerne in Dorsetshire. To come closer to the sence of this Proverb, I conceive it first of outlandish extraction, and cast by forraigners as a note of disgrace on all the English, though it chanceth to stick only on the Kentish at this Day. For when there happened in Palestine a difference betwixt Robert brother of Saint Lewis King of France and our William Longspee Earle of Salisbury, heare how the French-man insulted over our nation:

Matthew Paris. Anno Dom. 1250. pag. 790.

O timidorum caudatorum formidolositas! quam beatus, quam mundus præsens foret exercitus, si a caudis purgaretur et caudatis.

O the cowardliness of these fearful Long-tails! How happie, how cleane would this our armie be, were it but purged from tails and Long-tailes.

That the English were nicked by this speech appears by the reply of the Earle of Salisbury following still the metaphor; The son of my father shall presse thither to day, whither you shall not dare to approach his horse taile. Some will have the English so called from wearing a pouch or poake, (a bag to carry their baggage in) behind their backs, whilest probably the proud Monsieurs had their Lacquies for that purpose. In proof whereof they produce ancient pictures of the English Drapery and Armory, wherein such conveyances doe appear. If so, it was neither sin nor shame for the common sort of people to carry their own necessaries, and it matters not much whether the pocket be made on either side, or wholly behinde. If any demand how this nick-name (cut off from the rest of England) continues still entaild on Kent? The best conjecture is, because that county lieth nearest to France, and the French are beheld as the first founders of this aspersion. But if any will have the Kentish so called from drawing and dragging boughs of trees behind them, which afterwards they advanced above their heads and so partly cozened partly threatned King William the Conqueror to continue their ancient customes, I say, if any will impute it to this original, I will not oppose.” Worthies (Kent, p. 63), ed. 1662. The preceding passage of Fuller, somewhat abridged, is copied by Ray into his Proverbs, p. 245. ed. 1768. For fanciful stories concerning the origin of Kentish long-tails, see also Cornv-copiæ, Pasquils Night-cap, 1612, (attributed to S. Rowlands), p. 42. sqq.; and the commencement of Robin Good-fellow, His mad Prankes and Merry Jests, 1628, (a tract which originally appeared at an earlier date).

Page 193. v. 1. Gup] See note, p. 99. v. 17.

v. 23. Agayn] i. e. Against.

v. 26. dur] i. e. door.

v. 28. Go shake thy dog, hey] In our author’s Magnyfycence, v. 306. vol. i. 235, is,—

“Go, shake the dogge, hay, syth ye wyll nedys.”

and had the expression occurred only in these two passages of Skelton, I should have felt confident that in the present one “thy” was a misprint for “the,” and that both were to be explained—“Go shake thee, dog,” &c.; but again, in his poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. v. 159. vol. ii. 72, we find,

“Twyt, Scot, shake thy dogge, hay!”

Page 194. v. 34. hose] i. e. breeches.

v. 37. A spectacle case, &c.] See note, p. 193. v. 133.

v. 40. A tolman to blot] A friend queries “tal man?” but tolman is, I believe, pen-man: compare our author’s third poem Against Garnesche;

“Had ye gonne with me to scole, And occupyed no better your tole [i. e. pen],” &c.

v. 117. vol. i. 123.

also the commencement of the present piece,—

“Gup, Scot, Ye blot.”

v. 41. rough foted] See note, p. 222. v. 170.

v. 43. depraue] i. e. vilify, defame.

v. 44. reame] i. e. realm.

v. 56. rankis] i. e., perhaps, wrangles.

v. 58. Huntley bankes] See note, p. 221. v. 149.

v. 60. Dunde, Dunbar] See note, p. 219. v. 121.

v. 63. to far] i. e. too far.

ELEGIA IN COMITISSAM DE DERBY.

This illustrious and excellent lady, born in 1441, was Margaret, the only child of John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. Her first husband was Edmund, Earl of Richmond, who died in 1456, a little more than a year after their marriage, the sole issue of which was Henry, afterwards King Henry the Seventh. Her second husband was Sir Henry Stafford, second son of Humphrey, the great Duke of Buckingham. Her third husband was Thomas Lord Stanley, afterwards the first Earl of Derby of his name. Having survived him, as also her son King Henry, she died June 29, 1509, in her 69th year, and was buried in the magnificent chapel then lately erected in Westminster Abbey.

Page 195. v. 5. polyandro] Polyandrum or polyandrium, (properly, multorum commune sepulchrum—πολυάνδριον)—“Interdum et sæpius apud ævi inferioris scriptores sumitur pro monumento aut sepulcro unius hominis.” Du Cange’s Gloss.—Here it means, of course, the tomb of Henry vii.—Whiting has anglicised the word in a poem appended to his Albino and Bellama, 1638;

“King Ethelbert’s clos’d in his Poliander.”

Sig. H 7.

v. 7. Titus hanc, &c.] i. e. Livy, who gives an account of Tanaquil, wife of Tarquinius Priscus: see his Hist. i. 34, &c.—“Tanaquilem Sidonius Apollinaris et Ausonius pro egregia uxore.” Cassellii Var. lib. i. c. xiii. p. 210 (Gruteri Lampas, iii.).

v. 19. Abyron] i. e. Abiram: see Numbers, ch. xvi.

Page 196. v. 25. perituræ parcere chartæ] Juvenal, Sat. i. 18.

—— phagolœdoros] i. e. (φαγολοιδόρους) convicia et maledicta devorantes.

WHY WERE YE CALLIOPE, &c.

were, i. e. wear: concerning this dress, worn, it would seem, by Skelton as Laureat, see Account of his Life and Writings.

Page 197. v. 16. somdele sere] i. e. somewhat dry, withered.

v. 17. fayne] i. e. glad, willing.

THE BOKE OF THREE FOOLES.

This piece is a paraphrase of three portions of Brant’s Ship of Fools: see the Latin version by Locher, Stultifera Nauis, ed. 1497,—Vxorem ducere propter opes, fol. lx., De livore et inuidia, fol. lxi., and De voluptate corporali, fol. lviii.: the same sections will be found accompanying Barclay’s Ship of Fooles, ed. 1570,—fol. 95, fol. 97, and fol. 92.

Page 199. v. 3. lygnage femynatyfe] i. e. lineage feminine.

v. 9. sythe] i. e. since.

Page 200. l. 1. boke] i. e. book.

l. 2. iyen] i. e. eyes.

—— loke] i. e. look.

l. 3. folysh] i. e. foolish.

l. 4. Pecunyous] i. e. Money-loving.

—— bee] i. e. by.

l. 5. wyddred] i. e. withered.

l. 6. nobles] i. e. the gold coins so called.

l. 8. habandoneth] i. e. abandoneth.

Page 200. l. 9. for to gather togyther the donge ... grese] In the Latin of Locher;

“Aruinam multi quærunt sub podice asselli: Et cumulant trullas: stercora vana petunt.”

fol. lx. ed. 1497.

l. 18. thoughte] See note, p. 101. v. 10.

l. 20. debylyte] i. e. debilitated.

l. 21. vnpropyce] i. e. unpropitious.

l. 23. esperaunce] i. e. hope, expectation.

—— lygnage] i. e. lineage.

l. 25. demoraunce] i. e. abiding.

l. 26. leseth] i. e. loseth.

l. 29. hert] i. e. heart.

l. 32. cure] i. e. care.

Page 201. l. 15. conninge] i. e. knowledge, learning, attainments.

l. 20. whereas] i. e. where.

l. 22. pore] i. e. poor.

l. 23. corrompeth] i. e. corrupteth,—destroyeth.

l. 30. defende] i. e. forbid.

Page 202. l. 3. condycions] See note, p. 183. v. 12.

l. 4. dyssypers] i. e., I suppose, disperser.

l. 5. brennest] i. e. inflamest.

l. 6. sleeth] i. e. slayeth, (slayest).

l. 7. traueyleth] i. e. causeth travail (trouble) to.

l. 15. reclaymeth] i. e. proclaimeth.

l. 16. courage] i. e. heart, mind, disposition.

l. 17. adnychell] i. e. annihilate.

l. 22. flambe] i. e. flame.

l. 24. where as] i. e. where.

l. 25. odyfferaunt] i. e. odoriferous.

l. 27. tho] i. e. those.

l. 29. dissolate] i. e. dissolute.

Page 203. l. 6. glauca] Properly, I believe, glaucus.

—— eyen beholdinge a trauers] i. e., I suppose, eyes looking askance.

l. 7. syntillously] i. e. so as to emit sparks.

l. 14. were delybered] i. e. were advised, were minded.

l. 16. domage] i. e. damage, loss.

l. 20. brenneth] i. e. burneth.

l. 21. edefyed] i. e. built.

l. 24. egally] i. e. equally, justly.

l. 28. incontinente] i. e. immediately.

Page 203. l. 29. Cayme] i. e. Cain. So formerly the name was often written:

“He was of Kaymes kunrede.”

Kyng Alisaunder,—Weber’s Met. Rom. i. 84.

l. 32. Thesius] Should of course be Thyestes, as in Locher’s Latin: yet Barclay in his version of the passage has,

“Atreus storye and Theseus cruel.”

The Ship of Fooles, fol. 96 [99], ed. 1570.

Page 204. l. 4. rested] i. e. roasted.

—— theim] i. e., perhaps, (if it be not a misprint for “him”) the guests: but the whole passage is scarcely intelligible.

l. 6. Ethiocles] So written in Locher’s Latin for Eteocles; and so Lydgate,—

“But make youre myrroure of Ethyocles.”

Storye of Thebes, Pars Prima, sig. C v. ed. 4to. n. d.

l. 12. collacion] Equivalent here, I believe, to comparison.

l. 17. cautellous] i. e. crafty, wily.

l. 25. pill] i. e. strip.

l. 26. mondayne] i. e. worldly, gross.

l. 27. cheseth] i. e. chooseth.

Page 205. l. 7. thoughte] See note, p. 101. v. 10.

l. 8. lenger] i. e. longer.

l. 17. sith] i. e. since.

l. 18. asprely] i. e. roughly, severely.

—— enforce] i. e. exert.

A REPLYCACION, &c.

Concerning the “yong scolers” against whom this piece was composed, I can give no information.

Page 206. l. 9. contemplationem] See note, p. 214, title of Epitaph.

Page 207. l. 4. remordyng] See note, p. 193. v. 101.

—— recrayed] See note, p. 223. v. 26.

l. 5. rechelesse] i. e. reckless.

l. 25. enbolned] i. e. swollen, puffed up.

l. 26. pipplyng] i. e. piping: compare our author’s Garlande of Laurell, v. 676. vol. i. 388.

l. 29. lusty] i. e. pleasant, desirable.

Page 208. l. 1. sped] i. e. versed.

l. 2. connyng] i. e. knowledge, learning.

v. 8.

—— in the Uyntre At the Thre Cranes]

Here the tavern with the sign of the Three Cranes is meant: the three cranes were originally three strong cranes of timber, placed on the Vintry-wharf, for lifting from the ships the vessels of foreign wine which were landed there.

Page 208. v. 16. enflamed] i. e. burned.

last l. Ouer] i. e. Besides.

—— processe] i. e. treatise; see notes, p. 143. v. 735. p. 146. v. 969. p. 195. v. 157; and compare v. 160 of this piece with the heading before v. 343, where “matter” and “processe” are used as synonymous.

Page 209. l. 5. tetrycall] i. e. sour, sullen, gloomy.

l. 6. friscaioly] So in the Interlude of the iiii Elementes, n. d.;

“Synge frysha Joly with hey troly loly.”

Sig. B ii.

l. 7. moche better bayned than brayned] Does bayned here mean—boned? In (at least Scottish) poetry we frequently find the expression “bayne [bone] and brayne:” see, for instance, Henry’s Wallace, B. vii. v. 596. ed. Jam.

l. 9. burblyng] “I Burbyll or spring vp as water dothe out of a spring.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. clxxix. (Table of Verbes).

“And playd with burbels of the water.”

Marie Maudelein, p. 239,—Turnbull’s Legendæ Cathol. (from the Auchinleck MS.)

“The burbly wawes in vp boyling.”

Lydgate’s Chorle and the Bird,—MS. Harl. 116. fol. 147,—

where a word has dropt out of the line. (The ed. reprinted for the Roxburgh Club has—

“The burbill wawes in their vp boyllyng.”)

—— blode] i. e. blood.

l. 11. rechelesse] i. e. reckless.

l. 15. perihermeniall principles] i. e. principles of interpretation. “Periermeniæ, Interpretationes; vox Græcæ originis περὶ ἑρμηνείας.” Du Cange’s Gloss.

l. 17. leudly] i. e. ignorantly—or perhaps, wickedly.

l. 23. surcudant] i. e. presumptuous, arrogant.

l. 24. popholy] Occurs again several times in our author’s writings, and with the more correct spelling,—popeholy. In Pierce Plowman we find,

“And none so singuler by him selfe, nor so pope holy.”

Sig. T ii. ed. 1561.

In Chaucer’s Romaunt of the Rose is the following description;

“Another thing was doen their [there] write, That seemed like an ipocrite, And it was cleped pope holy, That ilke is she that priuily Ne spared neuer a wicked deed When men of her taken none heed, And maketh her outward precious, With pale visage and piteous, And seemeth a simple creature,” &c.

Workes, fol. 111. ed. 1602.

The original French of the preceding passage is,—

“Une autre imaige estoit escripte, Qui sembloit bien estre ypocrite, Papelardie est appellée,” &c.

Le Rom. de la Rose, vol. i. 15. ed. 1735.

Roquefort (Gloss. de la Langue Romaine) cites these lines under “Papelardie, papelardise: Hypocrisie, tromperie, subtilité, mauvaise foi.” See too Du Cange’s Gloss. in vv. Papelardia, Papelardus. Compare also Lydgate;

“And for popholy and uyce loke wel aboute.”

The prohemy of a mariage, &c.,—MS. Harl. 372. fol. 51.

and Barclay;

“Ouer sad or proude, disceitfull and pope holy.”

The Ship of Fooles, fol. 57. ed. 1570.

and the Interlude of the iiii Elementes, n. d.;

“For rather than I wolde vse suche foly To pray to study or be pope holy I had as lyf be ded.”

Sig. B ii.

Page 209. l. 33. orgulyous] i. e. proud, insolent.

Page 210. v. 22. vnbrent] i. e. unburnt.

v. 23. content] As the marginal note has Convenio, is it not a misprint for “convent?”

v. 24. leudly] i. e. badly, wickedly.

v. 26. disable] i. e. disqualify, degrade, disparage: “disablinge hymself in wordes, though his entent was otherwise.” Hall’s Chron. (Hen. viii.) fol. lvii. ed. 1548.

v. 37. ianglyng] i. e. babbling, chattering,—noisy.

v. 38. clawes] i. e. clause.

v. 39. poppyng dawes] Compare our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte;

“Poppynge folysshe dawes.”

v. 261. vol. ii. 35.

and v. 121 of the present piece;

“And porisshly forthe popped Your sysmaticate sawes.”

“Popping, blabbing, like a popinjay or parrot.” Gloss. to Exmoor Scolding: dawes, i. e. simpletons; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

Page 210. v. 45. recrayed] See note, p. 223. v. 26.

v. 48. baudrie] i. e. foul language: see note, p. 161. v. 90.

v. 50. to] i. e. too.

Page 211. v. 54. confettred] i. e. confederated.

v. 61. attamed] i. e. tamed.

v. 65. sorte] i. e. set, company.

v. 66. fayne] i. e. glad.

v. 75. Te he, &c.] Expressions of laughter;

“Te he, quod she, and clapt the window to.”

Chaucer’s Milleres Tale, v. 3738. ed. Tyr.

v. 76. mo] i. e. more.

Page 212. v. 87. reny] i. e. renounce, abjure.

v. 89. brende] i. e. burnt.

v. 92. discured] i. e. discovered.

v. 95.

Ye are vnhappely vred. In your dialeticall, &c.]

The old (and unique) copy is without punctuation in this passage; but that the first line closes the sense, and that Skelton did not mean that these heretics were unhappely ured in their dialectical, &c. would appear from a comparison of other passages:

“Agaynst these heretykes, Nowe of late abiured, Most vnhappely vred: For be ye wele assured,” &c.

v. 403 of the present piece.

“But men nowe a dayes so vnhappely be vryd, That nothynge than welth may worse be enduryd.”

Magnyfycence, v. 6. vol. i. 226.

“O Scottes pariured, Vnhaply vred, Ye may be assured,” &c.

Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. v. 125. vol. ii. 71.

In our author’s Colyn Cloute we find,

“Wherfore he hath good vre,” &c.

v. 1003. vol. i. 350.

in the note on which line I have cited various examples of vre in the sense of—hap, luck; and in his poem Against the Scottes,

“Male vryd was your fals entent,”

v. 111. vol. i. 185.

which surely means—Ill-fortuned, &c. (Fr. malheur). Is vnhappely vred to be considered as nearly synonymous with male vryd, or is it to be explained,—unhappily (evilly) used, practised, habituated?

Page 212. v. 98.

If ye to remembrance call Howe syllogisari Non est ex particulari, Neque negativis, Recte concludere si vis]

“Nullus syllogismus categoricus communis, vel ex solis particularibus, vel ex solis negativis constare potest. Hanc [regulam] expresse tradit Aristoteles libro primo Prior. capite 24. numero primo. Hinc metrum hoc natum:

Ex particulari non est syllogizari, Neque negativis, recte concludere si vis.”

Crakanthorp’s Logicæ Libri Quinque, 1622. p. 279.

v. 107. Your hertes than were hosed] i. e. Your hearts were in your hose (breeches): so again our author in his Why come ye nat to Courte;

“Their hertes be in thyr hose.”

v. 286. vol. ii. 35.

See too Ray’s Proverbs, (Scottish), p. 292. ed. 1768.

v. 113. quosshons] i. e. cushions.

v. 115. Harpocrates] The God of Silence.

Page 213. v. 120. folysshly] i. e. foolishly.

—— fopped] A singular example of the word as a verb.

v. 121. porisshly] In our author’s Garlande of Laurell is “porisshly pynk iyde,” v. 626. vol. i. 386 (and Palsgrave has “Porisshly, as one loketh that can nat se well”); see note on the passage: but I cannot determine the meaning of the word here.

v. 124. dawes] i. e. simpletons; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 126. elenkes] i. e. elenchs (elenchus—in logic).

v. 132. prouoke and tyse] i. e. incite and entice.

v. 143. exhibycion] i. e. allowance of money.

v. 144. skoles] i. e. schools.

v. 145. foles] i. e. fools.

v. 147. founde] i. e. maintained.

Page 214. v. 156. brute] i. e. saying, proverb.

v. 165. skyes] i. e. clouds.

v. 168. dawns] i. e. dance.

v. 169. ray] See note, p. 194. v. 170.

v. 171. lau] i. e. law.

v. 172. shayle] See note, p. 97. v. 19.

Page 214. v. 175. babyls] i. e. baubles.

Page 215. v. 196. face] i. e. face out.

v. 199. to] i. e. too.

v. 204. lollardy] i. e. heretical; see note, p. 204. v. 145.

v. 206. predycacion] i. e. declaration,—or preaching.

v. 207. knowlege] i. e. acknowledge.

v. 212. muse] Is properly the opening in a fence or thicket, through which a hare or other beast of sport, is accustomed to pass: see Nares’s Gloss. in v. and Moor’s Suff. Words, in v. Mewse.

v. 215.

With blowyng out your hornes, ... With chatyng and rechatyng]

Whatever Skelton may have meant by “chatyng,”—(perhaps he uses it for chatting,—in the next line we have “pratyng”),—rechatyng is properly a hunting-term, and signifies sounding the rechate or recheat (Fr.), a certain set of notes blown with the horn to recal the dogs.

v. 219. pystels] i. e. epistles.

Page 216. v. 220. bremely] i. e. fiercely, roughly.

v. 234. lydder] i. e. bad.

v. 247. popeholy] See note on prose of this piece, l. 24. p. 230.

Page 217. v. 260. echone] i. e. each one.

v. 264. iangle] i. e. babble, chatter.

v. 267. the people of lay fee] i. e. the laity; as again in our author’s Colyn Cloute;

“The lay fee people rayles.”

v. 403. (where MS. omits “fee”) vol. i. 326:

fee, i. e. possessions; see Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales, Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang., and Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. in v.

v. 274. snapper] i. e. stumble; but see note, p. 92. v. 4.

—— werkes] i. e. works.

v. 280. mo] i. e. more.

v. 281. latria] “Le culte que nous déférons à Dieu seul, nous l’appellons Latrie [λατρεία].” Perroniana, p. 312. ed. 1740.

v. 285.

But, I trowe, your selfe ye ouerse What longeth to Christes humanyte. If ye haue reed de hyperdulia, Than ye knowe what betokeneth dulia]

—ouerse, i. e. overlook: longeth, i. e. belongeth. “L’adoration de Superdulie est celle qui se défère à la Vierge, et elle est plus eminente pour la grace qu’elle a reçu de Dieu, plus particuliere que les autres Saints, pour avoir porté le Fils de Dieu en ses entrailles.” Perroniana, p. 71. “Aux Saints nous déférons l’honneur qu’on appelle Dulie.” Id. p. 312. ed. 1740. “Dulia [δουλεία] enim adoratio est, quæ etiam creaturæ exhibetur, quæ duas species habet, unam quæ hominibus indifferenter, alteram quæ soli humanitati Christi exhibetur.” Gaufridus Abbas in Epist. ad Albinum Cardinalem,—cited by Du Cange, Gloss. in v.

Page 218. v. 293. mased] i. e. bewildered, confounded.

v. 295. brent] i. e. burnt.

v. 296. bvsynesse] i. e. trouble.

v. 297. vyse] i. e. advise.

v. 298. scoles] i. e. schools.

v. 299. foles] i. e. fools.

Page 219. v. 303. replycable] i. e. such as can be replied to.

Page 220. v. 323. remorded] See note, p. 193. v. 101.

v. 225. his pystell ad Paulinum] i. e. his Epistle ad Paulinum presbyterum de omnibus divinæ historiæ libris, prefixed to the Vulgate: the passage quoted by Skelton is also to be found in Hieronymi Opera, I. 1011. ed. 1609.

—— Serenus] The Scholium on this name in Hieronymi Opera is: “Aulus Serenus lyricus ipse etiam fuit, et, ut Terentianus est auctor, eleganti ac facili ingenio, et ad jocos amoresque describendos accommodato: Martianus Capella ac Nonius sæpius ejus carmina citant.” I. 1017. ed. 1609.—See also an account of Serenus, prefixed to his extant pieces, in Wernsdorf’s Poetæ Latini Minores, tom. ii.

v. 337. armony] i. e. harmony.

Page 221. processe] See note, p. 230, on last line (prose) of p. 208.

v. 359.

For if ye sadly loke, And wesely rede the Boke Of Good Aduertysement, With me ye must consent, &c.]

—sadly loke, i. e. seriously look, consider. In the Garlande of Laurell Skelton mentions, as one of his own compositions,

“Item Good Aduysement, that brainles doth blame.”

v. 1186. vol. i. 409.

Qy. does he allude to it here?

Page 222. v. 395. auaunce] i. e. advance.

Page 223. v. 399. make] i. e. compose.

v. 405. vnhappely vred] See note on v. 95. p. 232.

MAGNYFYCENCE.

“That this piece was composed subsequently to the year 1515, seems evident from the mention made in one place [v. 283] of ‘Kynge Lewes of Fraunce’ as an example of liberality [and as dead, v. 285]; and this could only mean Louis xii., who died in that year, as his immediate predecessor of that name [who died in 1483] was the most niggardly of wretches.” MS. note by Ritson on a transcript of Magnyfycence.

Page 226. v. 4. probate] In our author’s Garlande of Laurell mention is made of

“Macrobius that did trete Of Scipions dreme what was the treu probate.”

v. 367. vol. i. 376.

where probate is proof, meaning, or, perhaps, interpretation: but in what sense Skelton uses the word here I cannot determine, the greater part of this speech being beyond my comprehension.

v. 5. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 6. vnhappely be vryd] See note, p. 232. v. 95.

v. 9. amense] i. e., perhaps, amends.

v. 10. by] i. e. buy, acquire.

v. 16. sad] i. e. grave, serious, sober.

v. 17. lure] See note, p. 147. v. 1100.

v. 22. wonnys] i. e. dwells.

—— and a man wolde wyt] i. e. if a man would know.

v. 24. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

Page 227. v. 33. Ye, to knackynge ernyst what and it preue]—i. e. Yea, what if it prove mocking earnest: compare the preceding line, and see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scott. Lang. in v. Knack.

v. 35. in the mew] i. e. in confinement,—properly, the place in which hawks were kept, or in which fowls were fattened: see note on Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 219.

v. 36. a cue] Is explained (see Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. &c.)—a farthing, as being merely the sound of q̄, the abbreviation of quadrans. But Minsheu has; “Cue, halfe a farthing, so called because they set down in the Battling or Butterie Bookes in Oxford and Cambridge the letter q. for halfe a farthing, and in Oxford when they make that Cue or q. a farthing, they say, Cap my q., and make it a farthing thus qͣ. But in Cambridge,” &c. Guide into Tongues, ed. 1617.

v. 37. to] i. e. too.

Page 227. v. 39. condyssende] “I Condescende I agre to a mater.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cxciiii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 44. countenaunce] i. e. continence, restraint.

v. 45. let] i. e. hinder, restrain.

v. 47. corage] i. e. inclination, desires.

v. 56. parcell] i. e. part, portion.

v. 57. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 60.

Somwhat I coulde enferre, Your consayte to debarre]

i. e. I could bring in somewhat to hinder, contravene, your conception of the subject. So again in our author’s Garlande of Laurell;

“Madame, your apposelle is wele inferrid, And at your auauntage quikly it is Towchid, and hard for to be debarrid.”

v. 141. vol. i. 367.

Page 228. v. 65. fet] i. e. fetch.

v. 72. the surpluse of my sawe] i. e. the remainder of my saying.

v. 74. where as] i. e. where.

v. 80. ryn] i. e. run.

v. 86. wonder] I may observe that the Roxburgh reprint, without authority, and against the sense, has “no wonder.”

v. 89. ken] i. e. instruct.

v. 90. wonders] i. e. wondrous.

v. 92. to] i. e. too.

Page 229. v. 94. other] i. e. either.

v. 95.

To you I arecte it, and cast Therof the reformacyon]

So Skelton again;

“Syth vnto me formest this processe is erectyd.”

v. 2507 of the present drama.

“Arrectinge vnto your wyse examinacion How all that I do is vnder refformation.”

Garlande of Laurell, v. 410. vol. i. 378.

He has also,

“Arectyng my syght towarde the zodyake.”

Id. v. 1. p. 361.

“My supplycacyon to you I arrect.”

Id. v. 55. p. 363.

Arect in our early writers frequently signifies—impute, a meaning foreign to the present passages: in the two last cited, there can be no doubt that it is used in the sense of—raise: in the others it seems to mean—offer, refer.

Page 229. v. 103. Come of, therfore, let se] Compare Chaucer;

“—— let see, come off, and say.”

Court of Loue,—Workes, fol. 331. ed. 1602.

and Reynard the Fox; “Why tarye ye thus longe, come of.” Sig. b 7. ed. 1481: and Morte d’Arthur; “Come of thenne sayd they alle, and do hit.” Book xx. cap. iiii. vol. ii. 394. ed. Southey.

v. 106. reason and skyll] An expression which Skelton has elsewhere; but the words are nearly synonymous. “Skyll. Racio.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 113. chere] i. e. spirit,—or reception.

v. 114. intere] i. e. entire.

v. 115. Oracius to recorde] i. e. Horace to witness.

v. 117. to] i. e. too.

v. 126. Measure is treasure] Lydgate mentions this as “an olde prouerbe:” see his verses on Moderation, MS. Harl. 2251. fol. 29, and his poem beginning “Men wryte of oold how mesour is tresour.” Id. 2255. fol. 143.

—— this] i. e. thus: see note, p. 86. v. 38.

Page 230. v. 131. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 133. kynde] i. e. nature.

v. 134. renne] i. e. run.

v. 137. a rest] i. e. a wrest—by which the strings of harps and other musical instruments were drawn up.

v. 138. All trebyllys and tenours be rulyd by a meyne] “Intercentus, a meane of a songe.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d. In the notes on Shakespeare, in Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. &c., mean is wrongly explained—tenor: what the mean was, depended entirely on the nature of the composition.

v. 139. beste] i. e. beast.

v. 149. skyll] i. e. reason: see note on v. 106.

v. 150. sad] i. e. grave, serious, sober.

v. 151. It is no maystery] “Maystry done by delyuernesse ung tovr de souplesse, appertise.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlvi. (Table of Subst.); and see note, p. 113. v. 329.

“So me helpe God! queth Beues tho, Hit were no meistri me to slo, For this is the ferthe dai agon Mete ne drinke ne bot I non.”

Sir Beues of Hamtoun, p. 68. Maitl. ed.

“That is lytel maystry sayd syre launcelot to slee myn hors.” Morte d’Arthur, B. xix. c. iiii. vol. ii. 369. ed. Southey.

Page 230. v. 153. herdely] i. e. firmly.

Page 231. v. 166. hyght] i. e. am called.

v. 175. Conuenyent] i. e. Fit, suitable.

—— ryall] i. e. royal.

v. 178. syttynge] i. e. proper, becoming,—a word very common in our early poetry (altered unnecessarily to “fyttynge” in the Roxburgh reprint of this piece).

v. 182. his large] i. e. his range.

v. 184. hooly] i. e. wholly.

v. 189. sawe] i. e. sow.

v. 190. nother to] i. e. neither too.

—— lawe] i. e. low: so again in v. 2541, “nowe hy, nowe lawe degre.”

v. 193. consayte] i. e. conception.

Page 232. v. 202. losyll so lyther] i. e. scoundrel so wicked.

v. 209. plenarly] i. e. fully, entirely.

v. 213. Had I wyste] See note, p. 86. v. 40.

v. 216. to fer] i. e. too far.

v. 219. defaute] i. e. default, want.

v. 226. mone] i. e. moon.

v. 230. lyghtly] “Lightly or sone [i. e. soon]. Leuiter.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499: or, easily.

Page 233. v. 231. to moche] i. e. too much.

v. 233. scole] i. e. school.

v. 234. a poppynge fole]—fole, i. e. fool. “He is a popte fole or a starke fole for the nones. Homo fatuitate monstrabilis.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. P iii. ed. 1530. And see note, p. 231. v. 39.

v. 239. delyaunce] i. e. dalliance, delay.

v. 249. endure] i. e. remain, dwell.

v. 256. Here is none forsyth whether you flete or synke]—forsyth, i. e. regardeth, careth: flete, i. e. float, swim. So Chaucer;

“Him recketh neuer whether she flete or sinke.”

Annel. and Ar.,—Workes, fol. 244. ed. 1602.

v. 257. lokyd] i. e. looked.

v. 259. hafter] See note, p. 107. v. 138.

Page 234. v. 260. iangelynge Jacke of the vale] i. e. chattering, &c.; see note, p. 104. v. 6.

v. 266. Mary] i. e. by the Virgin Mary.

v. 267. largesse] i. e. bounty, liberality.

v. 269. worshyp] i. e. honour, dignity.

v. 272. hyght] i. e. am called.

v. 274. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 280. hardely] i. e. firmly.

Page 234. v. 280. auaunce] i. e. advance.

v. 283. reporte me] i. e. refer.

—— Kynge Lewes] i. e. King Louis the twelfth: see note on title, p. 236.

v. 285. syth] i. e. since.

v. 290. Jacke shall haue Gyl] So Heywood;

“Come chat at home, all is well, Jack shall haue Gill.”

Dialogue, sig. F 3.—Workes, ed. 1598.

Page 235. v. 295. broder] i. e. brother.

v. 296. I set not by] i. e. I value not.

—— Dauncaster cuttys] i. e. Doncaster horses.—Cut was a term for a common horse, from its having the tail cut short.

v. 297. bolte] i. e. arrow (for a description of it, see Nares’s Gloss. in v.).

—— shote] i. e. shoot.

v. 298. hyght] i. e. be called.

v. 300. this checke if ye voyde canne] “Checke a mery taunt.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., fol. xxiii. (Table of Subst.). “I Voyde a thyng out of the way or out of syght, Ie oste.” Id. fol. ccclxxxxix. (Table of Verbes).

v. 301. to longe to scole] i. e. too long to school.

v. 302. gose] i. e. goose.

v. 303. pole] i. e. pool, water.

v. 304. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 306. Go, shake the dogge, hay] See note, p. 226. v. 28.

v. 310. to play with me checke mate] In allusion to the king being put in check at the game of chess.

v. 311. your noble estate] Equivalent to—your noble lordship.

v. 312. recorde] i. e. testimony.

v. 314. Sad] i. e. Grave, serious, sober.

v. 318. hele] i. e. health.

v. 319. commaunde] i. e. commend.

v. 321. ony] i. e. any.

v. 322. sone] i. e. soon.

v. 323. kepe] i. e. heed, care, attention.

Page 236. v. 325. after none] i. e. afternoon.

v. 327. Whylest] i. e. Until.

v. 333. mynde] i. e. fancy.

v. 336. beholde] i. e. beholden.

v. 341. By lakyn] i. e. by our Lady: lakyn is the contraction of ladykyn, little lady.

v. 346. Pountesse] i. e. Pontoise.

Page 236. v. 347. taken me] i. e. committed, consigned to me.

Page 237. v. 355. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 357. They bare me in hande that I was a spye] i. e. They accused me, laid to my charge, that, &c.

“This false knight, that hath this treson wrought, Bereth hire in hond that she hath don this thing.”

Chaucer’s Man of Lawes Tale, v. 5039. ed. Tyr.

“I Beare in hande I threp vpon a man that he hath done a dede, or make hym byleue so, Ie fais accroyre” ... “What crime or yuell mayest thou beare me in hande of: Quel crime ou mal me peulx tu mettre sus.” Palgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. clxii. (Table of Verbes). “Many be borne an hande of a faute, and punysshed therfore, that were neuer gylty. Plerique facinoris insimulantur,” &c. Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. m ii. ed. 1530. This expression occurs with a different shade of meaning in our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte,—

“He bereth the kyng on hand, That he must pyll his lande,” &c.

v. 449. vol. ii. 40.

v. 362.

And wolde haue made me Freer Tucke, To preche out of the pylery hole]

Friar Tuck was one of Robin Hood’s merry companions. Concerning these lines Ritson remarks that there is “an evident allusion to some game or practice now totally forgotten and inexplicable.” Robin Hood, i. xxvi.

v. 364. antetyme] i. e. text. So in the absurd story of Skelton’s preaching, Merie Tales, (reprinted in Appendix to Account of his Life and Writings), “I say, as I said before in my antethem, vos estis.” Tale vii.

v. 366. moche warke] i. e. much work, trouble.

v. 367. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 369. made largesse as I hyght] i. e. made donation of money according to my name (Fancy’s assumed name being Largesse, see v. 272).

v. 375. grete estates] i. e. persons of great estate or rank.

Page 238. v. 384. ye] i. e. yea.

v. 385. mesure is a mery mene] Heywood in his Epigrammes vpon Prouerbs has ten on “Measure is a mery meane.” Sig. N iiii.,—Workes, ed. 1598.

v. 388. ryall] i. e. royal.

v. 391. oder] i. e. other.

v. 405. blunderyng] i. e. disturbance. “I Blonder, Ie perturbe.”

Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. clxviii. (Table of Verbes).

Page 238. v. 406. betake] i. e. commit, consign.

v. 411. to put the stone] i. e. to throw the stone above hand, from the uplifted hand, for trial of strength.

Page 239. v. 413. gyse] i. e. guise, fashion, manner.

v. 417. I set not by] i. e. I value not.

v. 423. lurdayne] i. e. lumpish, lazy fellow, clown,—worthless person in general.

v. 425. tappyster] i. e. woman presiding over the tap in a public house.

v. 429. can] i. e. know.

—— praty] i. e. pretty.

v. 430. occupy] i. e. use: see note, p. 86. v. 52.

—— kayes] i. e. keys.

v. 433. at all assayes] Occurs again in v. 2303. “At all assayes, En tous poynts, or a tous poynts.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxxxviii. (Table of Aduerbes). “He is a frende at all assayes. Omnium horarum amicus est.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. Y iiii. ed. 1530.

v. 435. mekyll] i. e. much.

v. 444. sleyght] i. e. trick, artful contrivance.

Page 240. v. 446. fayty bone geyte] Perhaps corrupted French—fait a bon get or geste.

v. 449. consayte] i. e. conceit, conception.

v. 453. noppe is rughe] i. e. nap is rough.

v. 455. chafer] i. e. merchandise.

v. 458. The courtly gyse of the newe iet] A somewhat pleonastic expression,—the courtly guise of the new fashion. “Gette a custome guise nouuelle.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xxxvi. (Table of Subst.).

“Yit a poynte of the new gett to telle wille I not blyn.”

Juditium,—Towneley Mysteries, p. 312.

v. 460. ferre fet] i. e. far fetched.

v. 461. ymet] i. e. met.

v. 462. Margery Mylke Ducke] See note, p. 172. v. 418.

—— mermoset] A kind of ape or monkey.

v. 465. fresshe] i. e. smart.

v. 469. praty] i. e. pretty.

v. 470. iet] i. e. strut; see note, p. 94. v. 43.

v. 472. pope holy] See note, p. 230. l. 24.

v. 473. sadnesse] i. e. gravity, seriousness, soberness, discreetness.

Page 240. v. 475. not worth a flye] See note, p. 219. v. 104.

v. 477. occupy] i. e. use; see note, p. 86. v. 52.

v. 478. worshyp] i. e. honour, dignity.

Page 241. v. 482. tehe wehe] See note, p. 232. v. 75.

v. 485. knokylbonyarde] Compare Palsgrave’s Acolastus, 1540; “Do I raygne here on this facion, being a swynherde amongest swyne of Boeatia. i. amongest a meyny of iacke holde my staues, or knockyldeboynyardes, beinge but of late a kynge,” &c. Sig. Y iiii.; and Heywood’s Dialogue, &c.,—

“He is a knuckilbonyard very meete To match a minion neither fayre nor sweete.”

Sig. D 4.,—Workes, ed. 1598.

v. 486. to] i. e. too.

v. 488. warke] i. e. work, business, matter.

v. 489. yarke] i. e. strike, lash.

v. 490. custrell] “Coustrell that wayteth on a speare covsteillier.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xxvii. (Table of Subst.). “Coustillier: An Esquire of the body; an Armour-bearer unto a Knight; the servant of a man at Armes; also, a groom of a stable, a horse-keeper.” Cotgrave’s Dict.

v. 492. this] i. e. thus; see note, p. 86. v. 38 (and so in the next line).

—— freers] i. e. friars.

—— famine] “Famen, sermo, verbum.” Du Cange’s Gloss.

v. 506. By God, I haue bene about a praty pronge]—praty, i. e. pretty: in the present line at least, pronge seems to mean—prank (Dutch pronk), whatever be its signification in the following passage of our author’s Colyn Cloute;

“And howe at a pronge We tourne ryght into wronge.”

v. 1196. vol. i. 357.

Page 242. v. 510. pagent] i. e. part: see notes, p. 88. v. 85; p. 189. v. 190.

v. 512. by lakyn] See note on v. 341. p. 240.

v. 513. heyre parent] i. e. heir apparent.

v. 514. rome] i. e. room, place.

v. 516. to] i. e. too.

v. 518. Cockys harte] i. e. God’s heart (Cock, a corruption of God).

v. 521. thee] i. e. thrive.

v. 526. hyght] i. e. am called.

v. 529. large] A play on the meanings of the word,—big, and liberal.

Page 242. v. 533. cofer kay] i. e. coffer-key.

v. 535. auowe] i. e. vow: see note, p. 109. v. 199.

Page 243. v. 539. alowde] i. e. approved.

v. 554. in same] i. e. in the same place (a pleonasm,—since “togyder” precedes).

v. 561. Can] i. e. Know.

v. 562. spedde] i. e. versed.

v. 564. iapes] i. e. jests, jokes.

v. 568. ouerwharte] i. e. overthwart—cross, perverse, wrangling.

v. 569. beshrowe] i. e. curse.

v. 571. iangle] i. e. babble, chatter.

Page 244. v. 573. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 575. my botes and my spores] i. e. my boots and my spurs.

v. 578. Cockes woundes] i. e. God’s wounds; see note on v. 518, preceding page.

v. 580. loketh] i. e. looketh.

v. 585. iurde hayte] Words (French perhaps) which I do not understand.

v. 591. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 592. a leysshe of ratches to renne an hare] i. e. a leash of—three—hounds to run a hare.

v. 597. prece] i. e. press.

Page 245. v. 609. to] i. e. too.

v. 625. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 628. do togyder] i. e. put it together.

v. 629. ony] i. e. any.

v. 633. wonne] i. e. dwell.

v. 635. a captyuyte] Is rather, I suspect, a misprint for, than used in the sense of—in: compare v. 2543.

Page 246. v. 639. the playnesse] i. e. the plain fact.

v. 644. thee] i. e. thrive.

v. 658. a pystell of a postyke]—pystell, i. e. epistle, letter; but I do not understand the expression.

v. 659. fonnysshe] i. e. foolish.

v. 666. freke] i. e. fellow: see notes, p. 109. v. 187; p. 178. v. 15.

v. 667. peke] “I Peke or prie.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccxvii. [—xv.] (Table of Verbes).

Page 247. v. 672. rome] i. e. room, place.

v. 679. hyght] i. e. be called.

v. 681. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 685. By the armes of Calys] See note, p. 118. v. 398.

v. 687. slyght] i. e. trick, artful contrivance.

v. 688. fonde consayte] i. e. foolish conceit,—fantasies.

Page 247. v. 690. sadnesse] See note on v. 473. p. 242.

v. 692. Cockys body] i. e. God’s body: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 695. whylyst] i. e. until.

v. 698. quyte] i. e. acquit.

—— praty] i. e. pretty.

Page 248. v. 707. haftynge] See note, p. 107. v. 138.

v. 713. geste] i. e. guest.

v. 719. hynder] “Hyndringe or harmynge. Dampnificacio.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “I Hynder I hurte, Ie porte dommage.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cclxii. (Table of Verbes).

“Lest the reporte in hinderyng of his name,” &c.

Lydgate’s Warres of Troy, B. iii. sig. Q ii. ed. 1555.

v. 720. hode] i. e. hood.

v. 722. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 730. lacke] i. e. blame.

v. 732. sped] i. e. versed.

v. 733. lytherly] i. e. wickedly.

v. 734. Paynte] See note, p. 176. v. 583.

Page 249. v. 737. fauell] See note, p. 107. v. 134.

—— tyned] i. e. pointed, pronged.

v. 745. shrewdenes] i. e. wickedness, evil.

v. 746. grete estates] i. e. persons of great estate, or rank.

v. 748. flery] i. e. fleer.

—— pretence] i. e. intent.

v. 751. bronde] i. e. brand.

v. 752. mase] i. e. bewilder, confound.

—— fonde] i. e. foolish.

v. 754. bale] i. e. sorrow, trouble.

v. 755. Huffa, huffa] See note, p. 181. v. 16.

v. 756. a] i. e. he.

v. 757. Rutty bully] See note, p. 94. v. 29.

—— ioly rutterkyn, heyda] Occurs in a song preserved in the Fairfax MS. which once belonged to Ralph Thoresby, and is now among the Additional MSS. in the British Museum (5465, fol. 114):

“Hoyda joly rutterkyn hoyda Lyke a rutterkyn hoyda.

Rutterkyn is com vnto oure towne In a cloke withoute cote or gowne Save a raggid hode to kouer his crowne Like a rutter hoyda.

Rutterkyn can speke no englissh His tonge rennyth all on buttyrd fyssh Besmerde with grece abowte his disshe Like a rutter hoyda.

Rutterkyn shall bryng you all good luk A stoup of bere vp at a pluk Till his brayne be as wise as a duk Like a rutter hoyda.

When rutterkyn from borde will ryse He will piss a galon pott full at twise And the ouerplus vndir the table of the newe gyse Like a rutter hoyda.”

Sir John Hawkins printed the above song (with the music) and tells us that it “is supposed to be a satire on those drunken Flemings who came into England with the princess Anne of Cleve, upon her marriage with king Hen. viii.” Hist. of Music, iii. 2. But if it be the very song quoted in our text, it must allude to “rutterkyns” of a considerably earlier period; and, as the Fairfax MS. contains two other pieces which are certainly known to be from Skelton’s pen, there is a probability that this also was composed by him.

Court. Ab. in his next speech but one says, “am not I a ioly rutter?” and (v. 846)

“My robe russheth So ruttyngly.”

Rutter, which properly means—a rider, a trooper (Germ. reiter, reuter), came to be employed, like its diminutive rutterkin, as a cant term, and with various significations, (see Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. q iii. ed. 1530; Drant’s Horace His Arte of Poetrie, pistles, &c. sig. D ii. ed. 1567). When Court. Ab. asks “am not I a ioly rutter?” he evidently uses the word in the sense of—dashing fellow, gallant, alluding to his dress, on which he afterwards enlarges in a soliloquy. In v. 805 Cr. Con. terms him “this ioly ietter.” Compare the following passage of Medwall’s Interlude of Nature, n. d.;

“And whan he is in suche aray There goth a rutter men wyll say a rutter huf a galand.”

Sig. d ii.

Page 249. v. 759. Decke your hofte, &c..]—hofte, i. e. head. If I rightly understand the passage, Court. Ab. desires Cl. Col. to put on his hat, or cap: see note below the text.

v. 760. Say vous, &c.] i. e. Savez vous, &c.: the last three words of the line seem to be the beginning of some French song.

Page 249. v. 761. Wyda] i. e. Oui da!

v. 763. rome] i. e. room, place.

—— stonde vtter] i. e. stand out, back.

v. 765. a betell or a batowe, or a buskyn lacyd] In Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d., besides “Feritorium. anglice a battynge staffe a batyll dur or a betyll,” we find “Porticulus. anglice a lytell handstaff or a betyll.” For “batowe” I have proposed in a note below the text “batone” (baton), a conjecture which is somewhat supported by the preceding word; but it seems more probable that the right reading is “botowe,” i. e. boot, for the work above cited has “Ocree ... anglice botis or botwes [ed. 1514—botowes],” and Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499 gives “Botewe. Coturnus.”

Page 250. v. 768. Jacke Hare] See note, p. 211. v. 270.

—— loke thou be not rusty] i. e. look that thou be not cankered, uncivil.

v. 769. nother] i. e. neither.

v. 770. lusty] See note, p. 183, heading of poem.

v. 773. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 775. swap] i. e. swop: see Richardson’s Dict. in v. “I Swappe I stryke.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccclxxxi. (Table of Verbes).

—— fotys] i. e. foots, footest.

v. 776. Ye] i. e. Yea.

—— gere] i. e. apparel.

v. 780. mo] i. e. more.

v. 782. a bole of newe ale in cornys] i. e. a bowl, &c.: see note, p. 171. v. 378.

v. 784. auysed] i. e. purposed on consideration.

v. 786. rome] i. e. room, place, office.

Page 251. v. 789. Cockys harte] i. e. God’s heart: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 790. for the armys of the dyce] Some cant exclamation.

v. 793. fayne] i. e. glad.

v. 795. rynne] i. e. run.

v. 796. cayser] i. e. Cæsar, or, as it is generally explained, emperor: in the Coventry Mysteries, however, a distinction is made between these terms;

“Bothe kynge and caysere and grett empere.”

MS. Cott. Vesp. D viii. fol. 113.

v. 798. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 799. tende] i. e. attend.

v. 805. ietter] i. e. strutter,—gallant: see note, p. 94. v. 43, and note on v. 757. p. 246.

Page 251. v. 806. supplye] i. e. supplicate.

v. 810. I ne tell can] i. e. I cannot tell.

Page 252. v. 818. gyse] i. e. guise, fashion.

v. 819. we wyll be aduysed twyse] i. e. we will consider of it twice.

v. 821. crake] i. e. speak vauntingly.

v. 827. bende] i. e. band.

v. 830. tawle] i. e. brave, bold.

v. 832. defaute] i. e. default, defect.

v. 833. hawte] i. e. haughty.

v. 834. pose] i. e. rheum in the head.

v. 839. loketh] i. e. looketh.

Page 253. v. 843. gere] i. e. apparel.

v. 844. My heyre bussheth]—heyre, i. e. hair. So Barclay, alluding to the “newe fassions and disguised garmentes” of the time;

“To Ship, galants, come nere I say agayne, With your set bushes curling as men of Inde.”

The Ship of Fooles, fol. 8. ed. 1570.

v. 847. ruttyngly] i. e. dashingly, gallantly: see note on v. 757. p. 246.

v. 850. To daunce delyght] So afterwards, Magnyfycence, exulting in his prosperity, says, “I dawnce all in delyte,” v. 1510.

v. 852. poynte deuyse] i. e. perfectly exact: see Gifford’s note on B. Jonson’s Works, iv. 169.

v. 855. gyse] i. e. guise, fashion.

v. 857. route] i. e. crowd, assembly.

v. 859. My sleue is wyde] So Barclay describes the young gallants of the time with “Their sleues blasing like to a Cranes winges.” The Ship of Fooles, fol. 8. ed. 1570. Wide sleeves are also mentioned in the following curious passage of Medwall’s Interlude of Nature, n. d. (written before the year 1500); the speaker is Pride:

“Behold the bonet vppon my hed a staryng colour of scarlet red I promyse you a fyne threde and a soft wull It cost me a noble at one pyche The scald capper sware sythyche That yt cost hym euen as myche But there Pryde had a pull. I loue yt well to haue syde here Halfe a wote byneth myne ere For euer more I stande in fere That myne nek shold take cold I knyt yt vp all the nyght and the day tyme kemb yt down ryght And then yt cryspeth and shyneth as bryght as any pyrled gold. My doublet ys on laced byfore A stomacher of saten and no more Rayn yt snow yt neuer so sore Me thynketh I am to hote Than haue I suche a short gown Wyth wyde sleues that hang a down They wold make some lad in thys town a doublet and a cote. Som men wold thynk that this were pryde But yt ys not so, ho ho abyde I haue a dagger by my syde yet therof spake not I I bought thys dagger at the marte A sharp poynt and a tarte He that had yt in hys hart Were as good to dye. Than haue I a sworde or twayn To bere theym my selfe yt were a payne They ar so heuy that I am fayne to puruey suche a lad Though I say yt a praty boy It ys halfe my lyues ioy He maketh me laugh wyth many a toy The vrchyn ys so mad.”

Sig. c ii.

Page 253. v. 861. hose] i. e. breeches.

v. 866. hyght] i. e. am called.

v. 871. thee] i. e. thrive.

v. 872. fon] i. e. fool.

Page 254. v. 878. pore] i. e. poor.

v. 881. to to] So in v. 2121;

“To flatterynge, to smatterynge, to to out of harre.”

Compare M. Harry Whobals mon to M. Camel, &c. (folio broadside among the “flytings” of Churchyard and Camell);

“My master Harry Whoball, sur, is to to shamefull wrothe. ... ... for drinke is to to nappye.”

Ray gives “Too too will in two. Chesh.” Proverbs, p. 163. ed. 1768.

v. 884. crake] i. e. vaunt.

Page 254. v. 885. I befoule his pate] i. e. I befool, &c. (not befoul), as it would seem from v. 1057, “I befole thy face;” and v. 1829, “I befole thy brayne pan.”

v. 886. fonne iet] i. e. foolish fashion (see note on v. 458. p. 242).

v. 887. From out of Fraunce] So Barclay;

“Reduce courtiers clerely vnto your remembraunce, From whence this disguising was brought wherin ye go, As I remember it was brought out of France.”

The Ship of Fooles, fol. 9. ed. 1570.

Borde, in his Boke of knowledge, introduces a Frenchman saying,

“I am ful of new inuencions And dayly I do make new toyes and fashions Al necions of me example do take Whan any garment they go about to make.”

Sig. T. reprint.

v. 889. purueaunce] i. e. provision.

v. 907. carlys] i. e. churl’s.

v. 909. wonne] i. e. dwell.

Page 255. v. 915. slyue] i. e. sleeve.

v. 918. preue] i. e. prove.

v. 919. A Tyborne checke] i. e. a rope.

—— craynge, Stow, stow]—craynge, i. e. crying. See note, p. 206. v. 73.

v. 921. out of harre] i. e. out of hinge, out of order: see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. and Suppl. in v. Har. The expression occurs again in v. 2121; and is found in the Towneley Myst. and G. Douglas’s Virgil’s Æn.

v. 923. warre] i. e. worse.

v. 932. farly] i. e. strange.

v. 933. lokys] i. e. looks.

v. 934. an hawke of the towre] So again our author in the Garlande of Laurell;

“Ientill as fawcoun Or hawke of the towre.”

v. 1006. vol. i. 402.

i. e., says Warton, “in the king’s mews in the Tower,” Hist. of E.P. ii. 355. ed. 4to: and the following lines occur in a poem called Armony of Byrdes, n. d. (attributed without authority to Skelton), reprinted entire in Typograph. Antiq. iv. 380. ed. Dibdin;

“The Haukes dyd syng Their belles dyd ryng Thei said they came frō the tower. We hold with the kyng And wyll for him syng To God, day, nyght, and hower.”

p. 383.

But I apprehend that by a hawke of the towre Skelton means—a hawk that towers aloft, takes a station high in the air, and thence swoops upon her prey. Juliana Berners mentions certain hawks which “ben hawkes of the toure.” Book of St. Albans, sig. c. v.: and Turbervile says; “Shee [the hobby] is of the number of those Hawkes that are hie flying and towre Hawks.” Booke of Falconrie, p. 53. ed. 1611.

Page 255. v. 935. the malarde] i. e. the wild-drake.

v. 936. becked] i. e. beaked.

v. 938. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

Page 256. v. 940. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 947. spere] i. e. spire, shoot,—stripling. So in our author’s third poem Against Garnesche, “But a slendyr spere.” v. 41. vol. i. 121.

v. 953. mo] i. e. more.

v. 954. in the dyuyls date] See note, p. 116. v. 375.

v. 956. he playeth the state] i. e. he playeth the person of consequence.

v. 957. pyke out of the gate] “I Pycke me forth out of a place or I pycke me hence, Ie me tyre auant.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccxvi. (Table of Verbes).

v. 962. out of consayte] i. e. out of good opinion, favour.

v. 964. a praty slyght] i. e. a pretty trick, contrivance.

v. 971. Cockes harte] i. e. God’s heart: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 973. poynted after my consayte] i. e. appointed, equipped according to my fancy.

v. 974. thou iettes it of hyght] i. e. thou struttest it in high style: see note, p. 94. v. 43.

Page 257. v. 975. let vs be wyse] Equivalent to—let us understand.

v. 977. come of, it were done] The expression “come of” has occurred before; see note on v. 103. p. 238. Compare Mary Magdalene;

“Cum of ȝe harlotts that yt wer don.”

An. Mysteries from the Digby MSS. p. 97. ed. Abbotsf.

Magnus Herodes;

“Hens now go youre way that ye were thore.”

Towneley Mysteries, p. 147.

Still’s Gammer Gurtons Nedle;

“Sir knaue make hast diccon were here.”

Sig. E 3. ed. 1575.

See too our author’s Garlande of Laurell, v. 243. vol. i. 371.

Page 257. v. 979. sone] i. e. soon.

v. 980. Stowe] See note, p. 206. v. 73.

v. 982. There is many euyll faueryd, and thou be foule] i. e. There is many a one ill-looking, if thou be ugly: see note, p. 130. v. 442.

v. 985. I wys] i. e. truly, certainly (i-wis, adv.).

v. 987. Jesse] i. e. Jesus.

v. 992. bent] i. e. arched; see note, p. 146. v. 1014.

v. 993. glent] i. e. glancing, bright.

v. 1000. Barbyd lyke a nonne]—nonne, i. e. nun. “The feders vnder the becke [of a hawk] ben callyd the Barbe feders.” Book of Saint Albans, sig. a 5. Barbe is explained by Tyrwhitt to mean a hood or muffler, which covered the lower part of the face and the shoulders; Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales: and he refers to Du Cange in v. Barbuta. According to Strutt, it was a piece of white plaited linen, and belonged properly to mourning: in an edict concerning “The order and manner of apparell for greate estates of weomen in tyme of mourninge,” made by the mother of Henry vii. in the 8th year of his reign, we find “Everye one not beinge vnder the degree of a Baronesse to weare a barbe aboue [Strutt prints by mistake—”about“] the chinne. And all other: as knightes wyfes, to weare yt vnder theire throtes, and other gentleweomen beneath the throte goyll.” MS. Harl. 1354. fol. 12. See Dress and Habits, pp. 323, 325, 326, 368, and plate cxxxv.

v. 1002. donne] i. e. dun.

v. 1003. Well faueryd bonne] So in our author’s Elynour Rummyng, v. 227, “my prety bonny;” see note, p. 166.

v. 1005. rowte] i. e. crowd, assembly.

Page 258. v. 1008. prese] i. e. press, throng.

v. 1009. a hole mese] i. e. a whole mess, set.

v. 1011. I rede, we sease] i. e. I advise that we cease.

v. 1012. farly ... lokys] i. e. strangely ... looks.

v. 1013. becke ... crokys] i. e. beak ... crooks.

v. 1014. tenter hokys] i. e. tenter-hooks.

v. 1015. wokys] i. e. weeks.

v. 1018. The deuyll spede whyt] So again in our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte;

“For as for wytte, The deuyll spede whitte!”

v. 1013. vol. ii. 58.

Page 258. v. 1020. to] i. e. too (as in the next two lines).

v. 1023. solempne] i. e. solemn.

v. 1027. a pere] i. e. a pear,—used frequently by our early writers for a thing of no value. “Vayne glory of the world, the whiche is not worth a pere.” Morte d’Arthur, B. xv. cap. vi. vol. ii. 254. ed. Southey.

v. 1028. lese] i. e. lose.

v. 1030. And I may tende] i. e. If I may attend.

v. 1032. halfe] i. e. side.

v. 1035. Fansy seruyce] i. e. Fancy-service.

—— hyght] i. e. am called.

v. 1038. theke] i. e. thatch.

v. 1040. Make a wyndmyll of a mat] Compare v. 2 of our author’s third set of verses Against venemous Tongues, vol. i. 132.

v. 1041. and I wyst] i. e. if I knew.

Page 259. v. 1049. blunder] See note on v. 405. p. 241.

—— blother] i. e. gabble; as in our author’s Colyn Cloute, v. 66. vol. i. 313.

v. 1054. this] i. e. thus: see note, p. 86. v. 38.

v. 1055. euerychone] i. e. every one.

v. 1057. fonnysshe] i. e. foolish.

—— I befole thy face] See note on v. 885. p. 250.

v. 1058. a foles case] i. e. a fool’s habit.

v. 1059. glede] i. e. kite. Nares, Gloss. in v., observes that in the common version of the Bible, Deut. xiv. 13, the glede and kite are erroneously mentioned together as two distinct birds.

v. 1061. thy lyppes hange in thyne eye] So in Thenterlude of Youth, n. d.;

“Faine of him I wolde haue a sight But my lyppes hange in my lyght.”

Sig. A iiii.

See too Heywood’s Dialogue, &c. sig. F 4,—Workes, ed. 1598.

v. 1066. pylde] i. e. bald—mangy: see note, p. 184. v. 68.

v. 1068. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1069. Mackemurre] A proper name, though not printed as such in the old copy:

“The great Onele, and Makmurre also, And al the lordes and kynges of Ireland.”

Hardyng’s Chronicle, fol. cxlix. ed. 1543.

v. 1070. budge furre] “Budge or Lambes furre.” Minsheu’s Guide into Tongues. In an order respecting the scholastic habit in the University of Cambridge, dated 1414, (quoted by Todd from Farmer’s papers, in a note on Milton’s Comus, v. 707,) mention is made of “furruris buggeis aut agninis.”

Page 260. v. 1073. thou wylte coughe me a dawe]—dawe, i. e. simpleton; see note, p. 113. v. 301. So in the fourth line after this, “ye shall coughe me a fole:” and in Lilly’s Mother Bombie, 1594; “I know hee will cough for anger that I yeeld not, but he shall cough mee a foole for his labour.” Sig. B 2.

v. 1074. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 1079. can] i. e. know.

v. 1081. broder] i. e. brother.

v. 1082. so hye fro me doth sprynge] i. e. doth (dost) grow so much taller than I.

v. 1088. gere] i. e. apparel.

v. 1089. folysshe] i e. foolish.

v. 1093. flete] i. e. float, flow, abound.

v. 1095. by] i. e. buy.

v. 1096. Cockys harte] i. e. God’s heart: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 1103. syke] i. e. such.

v. 1104. a fole the tone] i. e. a fool the one.

Page 261. v. 1107. warke] i. e. work, business.

v. 1108. donnyshe] i. e. dunnish.

v. 1109. a fonde gest] i. e. a foolish guest.

v. 1111. so folysshe and so fonde] i. e. so foolish and so silly (one of Skelton’s pleonasms).

v. 1118. beshrowe] i. e. curse.

v. 1119. do] i. e. done.

v. 1120. Here is nothynge but the bockyll of a sho] Compare The Bowge of Courte, v. 397. vol. i. 45.

v. 1121. marke] i. e. marks,—the coins so named.

v. 1123. hyght] i. e. is called.

v. 1124. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 1126. a botchment] “Botchement. Additamentum.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 1127. forfende] i. e. prohibit, forbid.

v. 1128. For Goddes cope] So we find as an oath, “By gods blew hood.” Tom Tyler and his Wife, p. 5. ed. 1661.

v. 1131. be tyme] i. e. by time.

v. 1134. praty] i. e. pretty.

v. 1136. Aungey] Does it mean Angers, or Anjou?

Page 262. v. 1142. gate] i. e. got.

v. 1143. puddynges] See note, p. 173. v. 443.

—— wortes] Is here, I suppose, equivalent to—cabbages.

v. 1147. marmosete] A kind of ape, or monkey.

v. 1148. iapes] i. e. jests, jokes.

Page 262. v. 1150. pultre] i. e. poultry, fowl.

—— catell] i. e. beast.

v. 1154. rode] i. e. rood, cross: see note, p. 206. v. 69.

v. 1157. nyfyls] A word sufficiently explained by the context, and of frequent occurrence. So in A Mery Play between Johan the Husbande, Tyb his Wyfe, and Syr Jhan the Preest, 1533, attributed to Heywood;

“By God, I wolde ye had harde the tryfyls, The toys, the mokkes, the fables, and the nyfyls, That I made thy husbande to beleve and thynke.”

p. 21. reprint.

v. 1158. canest] i. e. knowest.

v. 1159. mased] i. e. bewildered, confounded.

v. 1165. It forseth not] i. e. It matters not.

v. 1168. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

—— sone] i. e. soon.

Page 263. v. 1172. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1175. a farle freke] i. e. a strange fellow: see notes, p. 109. v. 187; p. 178. v. 15.

v. 1176. play well at the hoddypeke]—hoddypeke is a common term of contempt or reproach (as in our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 326. vol. ii. 37), and is generally equivalent to—fool. The original meaning of the word is altogether uncertain. Steevens (note on Gammer Gurtons Nedle) explains it—hodmandod (shell-snail); and Nares (Gloss. in v.) is inclined to agree with him. In a passage of Dunbar’s Dance of the Sevin Deidly Synnis (Poems, i. 51. ed. Laing), “hud-pykis” has been explained (on account of the context)—misers. In Cotgrave’s Dict. is “Noddy peke.”

v. 1182. ne reckys] i. e. recks not.

v. 1185. mo folys] i. e. more fools.

v. 1189. kesteryll] A sort of base-bred hawk.

v. 1190. I wys] i. e. truly, certainly (i-wis, adv.).

—— doteryll] See note, p. 129. v. 409.

v. 1191. In a cote thou can play well the dyser] “Dysoure. Bomolochus. Nugaculus.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “Dissar a scoffar saigefol.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xxix. (Table of Subst.). “He can play the desarde with a contrefet face properly. Morionem scite representat.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. bb iiii. ed. 1530. “One that were skylled in the crafte of dysours or skoffyng fellowes.” Palsgrave’s Acolastus, 1540. sig. H ii.

v. 1195. gatte] i. e. got.

v. 1200. fon] i. e. fool.

Page 264. v. 1205. do mastryes] See note on v. 151. p. 238.

v. 1206. cocke wat] See note, p. 108. v. 173.

v. 1211. rode] i. e. rood, cross: see note, p. 206. v. 69.

—— semblaunt] i. e. semblance.

v. 1215. lyste] i. e. liest.

v. 1216. moght ... lyste] i. e. moth ... list.

v. 1220. Johnn a Bonam] One of the persons who figure in the old metrical tale, The Hunttyng of the Hare, is called “Jac of Bonam:” see Weber’s Met. Rom. iii. 279.

v. 1223. Shyt] i. e. Shut.

—— dawe] i. e. simpleton; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

Page 265. v. 1230. cayser] See note on v. 796. p. 247.

v. 1232. scoles] i. e. schools,—teaching.

v. 1234. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1241. renneth] i. e. runneth.

v. 1242. thefte and bryboury]—bryboury, i. e. pilfering. “Brybery or bribe. Manticulum.”—“Briboure. Manticulus.”—“Bryben. Latricino. Manticulo.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “I Bribe I pull I pyll, Ie bribe. Romant, ie derobbe, ... and ie emble ... He bribeth and he polleth and he gothe to worke: Il bribe,” &c. Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. clxxiiii. (Table of Verbes). “Bribors, Cometh of the French Bribeur, i. e. Mendicus: It seemeth in a legal Signification one that pilfereth other Mens Goods, as Cloaths out of a Window, or the like. Anno 28 Ed. 2. Stat. 1. cap. unico.” Cowel’s Law Dictionary, or The Interpreter, &c. augmented and improved, &c. ed. 1727. So again our author;

“Thefte also and pety brybery.”

v. 1370 of the present drama.

“Some haue a name for thefte and brybery.”

Garlande of Laurell, v. 183. vol. i. 369.

So too in The Hye Way to the Spyttell Hous, by Copland, n. d.;

“Brybe, and conuey, fro mayster and maystres.”

Utterson’s Early Pop. Poet. ii. 37.

and in Gentylnes and Nobylyte, n. d. (attributed without reason to Heywood);

“For brybe and stele euery thyng they wyll If they may secretly come theruntyll.”

Sig. B iii.

Other passages might be cited from various poets. And see Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales, and Richardson’s Dict.

v. 1244. a nysot] In Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499 is “Anysot or a folt. Stolidus. Baburrus. Insons.” But in the present passage nysot seems, from the context, to be equivalent to—lazy jade: and in the work just cited we find “Nyce. Iners.”—“Nycehede or nycete. Inercia.”

Page 265. v. 1246. warke] i. e. work.

v. 1247. lyther] i. e. wicked, evil.

v. 1249. Bytwene the tappet and the wall]—tappet, i. e. tapestry. This line has occurred before, in our author’s fourth poem _Against Garnesche_, v. 75. vol. i. 128.

v. 1252. ony] i. e. any.

v. 1254. sorte] i. e. set, company,—people.

v. 1257. ferre] i. e. far.

Page 266. v. 1258. dawys] i. e. simpletons: see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 1261.

He frownyth fyersly, brymly browde, The knaue wolde make it koy, and he cowde]

—fyersly and brymly are nearly synonymous: make it koy means here—affect (not merely reserve, but) haughtiness;—and so in our author’s Bowge of Courte,—

“He bote the lyppe, he loked passynge coye.”

v. 288. vol. i. 41.

v. 1265. besy] i. e. busy.

v. 1270. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 1275. lese moche] i. e. lose much.

v. 1278. mo] i. e. more.

v. 1280. scolys] i. e. schools.

v. 1281. folys] i. e. fools.

v. 1282. lyther] i. e. wicked,—rascals (as in the next line but one—“these lythers”).

v. 1283. Symkyn Tytyuell] See note on Colyn Cloute, v. 418.

v. 1284. lere] i. e. learn.

v. 1289. mykyll] i. e. much.

Page 267. v. 1291. dell] i. e. part.

v. 1293. shroudly] i. e. shrewdly.

v. 1297. fonde] i. e. foolish.

v. 1299. auowe] i. e. vow: see note, p. 109. v. 199.

v. 1301. kynde] i. e. nature.

v. 1303. rutters] See note on v. 757. p. 245.

v. 1308. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

—— boke] i. e. book.

v. 1309. Ye] i. e. Yea.

—— loke] i. e. look.

v. 1312. howe] i. e. ho! stop!

“Ye shall haue ay quhill you cry ho.”

Philotvs, sig. B. ed. 1612.

“Greit God defend I suld be one of tho Quhilk of thair feid and malice neuer ho.”

G. Douglas’s Palice of Honour, p. 30. Bann. ed.

Page 267. v. 1314. scrat] i. e. scratch.

v. 1315. So how] i. e. So ho.

v. 1317. gadde] Does it mean—gadding?

v. 1318. brayne seke] i. e. brain-sick.

v. 1319. to shyre shakynge nought] i. e. to sheer nothing. So in our author’s Elynour Rummyng, (v. 466. vol. i. 110), that lady pronounces a couple of stunted goslings to be “shyre shakyng nought,” i. e. sheer worthless.

v. 1323. perde] i. e. par dieu, verily.

—— ryde or go] See note, p. 125. v. 186.

Page 268. v. 1324. slyght] i. e. contrivance.

v. 1325. hyght] i. e. be called.

v. 1327. wonne] i. e. dwell.

v. 1334. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1338. Cockes armes] i. e. God’s arms: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 1339. whylest] i. e. till.

v. 1341. slee] i. e. slay.

v. 1342. away the mare] See note, p. 162. v. 110.

v. 1345. a rome ... in euery route] i. e. a place in every crowd, assembly.

v. 1347. face and brace] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

v. 1348. fotyth] i. e. footeth.

Page 269. v. 1353. poyntmentys] i. e. appointments.

v. 1356. mykyll praty] i. e. much pretty.

v. 1358. an hoby can make larkys to dare]—to dare, i. e. to be terrified, to tremble,—(it also means—to lurk, lie hid; see note on the poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. v. 271). To dare larks was an expression applied to the catching of larks by terrifying them; and there were several modes of daring them. When the hobby (a small hawk, see note, p. 135. v. 567) was employed for that purpose, the larks lay still in terror till a net was thrown over them.

v. 1360. almesse] i. e. alms.

v. 1363. howe] i. e. ho.

v. 1365. loke] i. e. look.

v. 1368. hardely] i. e. assuredly.

v. 1370. pety brybery] See note on v. 1242. p. 256.

v. 1373. be] i. e. by.

Page 269. v. 1376. trew] i. e. honest.

v. 1378. checke] i. e. taunt: see note on v. 300. p. 240.

v. 1379. weltyth] To welt means—to border: but qy. is weltyth here used for weldyth, i. e. wieldeth, directeth?

v. 1382. sadnesse] i. e. gravity, seriousness, soberness, discreetness.

Page 270. v. 1389. sorte] i. e. set, company.

v. 1390. hokes vnhappy]—hokes, i. e. hooks, a word frequently applied to persons as a term of reproach. “Vnhappy of maners maluays.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xcviii. (Table of Adiect.). So in Jacke Jugelar, n. d.;

“Loo yender cumithe that vnhappye hooke.”

p. 26. Roxb. ed.

and in Heywood’s Dialogue, &c.;

“Since thou art crosse sailde, auale vnhappie hooke.”

Sig. E,—Workes, ed. 1598.

v. 1395. dawe] i. e. simpleton; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 1396. occupyed] i. e. used, employed; see note, p. 86. v. 52.

v. 1397. reason and skyll] See note on v. 106. p. 238.

v. 1401. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 1405. largesse] i. e. liberality.

v. 1411. Had I wyst] See note, p. 86. v. 40.

Page 271. v. 1416. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1421. Ye haue eten sauce] Compare our author’s Bowge of Courte, v. 72. vol. i. 33.

v. 1422. to] i. e. too.

v. 1425. worshyp] i. e. honour, dignity.

v. 1436. repryuable] i. e. reprovable.

Page 272. v. 1441. menys of to moche] i. e. means of too much.

v. 1442. What, can ye agree thus and appose?]—and appose, i. e. and yet keep questioning, disputing: see note on Colyn Cloute, v. 267.

v. 1443. faute] i. e. fault.

v. 1444. Ye] i. e. Yea.

—— Jacke a thrommys bybyll] See note, p. 189. v. 204.

—— glose] i. e. gloss.

v. 1446. loke you vnder kay] i. e. lock you under key.

v. 1456. Take it in worthe] See note, p. 95. v. 68.

v. 1458. largesse] i. e. liberality.

—— kynde] i. e. nature.

v. 1467. stonde] i. e. stand.

Page 273. v. 1473. fonde] i. e. foolish.

Page 273. v. 1474. loke that ye occupye] i. e. look that ye use; see note, p. 86. v. 52.

v. 1475. For nowe, syrs, I am lyke as a prynce sholde be, &c.] This speech of Magnyfycence is very much in the style of Herod in the old miracle-plays: see, for instance, the Coventry Mysteries, MS. Cott. Vesp. D. viii. fol. 92. sqq.

v. 1477. abandune] i. e. subject.

“For abandonit will he noght be to berne that is borne.”

Golagros and Gawane, p. 142,—Syr Gawayne, &c.

“Till all to yow abandownyt be.”

Barbour’s Bruce, B. iii. v. 883. ed. Jam.

v. 1481. mene] See note on v. 138. p. 238.

v. 1491. syar] i. e. sire, lord.

v. 1493. ryall trone] i. e. royal throne.

v. 1496. spyll] i. e. destroy.

Page 274. v. 1502. loke] i. e. look.

v. 1504. dynt] i. e. blow.

v. 1505. the cane] Does it mean—the khan?

v. 1507. I set not by] i. e. I value not, regard not.

—— prane] i. e. prawn.

v. 1508. Ne] i. e. Nor.

—— rehersse] i. e. mention.

v. 1513. cache] i. e. couch.

v. 1515. mell] i. e. meddle.

v. 1518. to lowte man be sene] i. e. (if the text be right; see foot-note ad l.) must be seen to bow, pay obeisance.

v. 1520. brymme] i. e. fierce, rugged, bristly.

v. 1521. Basyan the bolde, for all his brybaunce] Basyan is, I suppose, Antoninus Bassianus Caracalla (he is called “Basian” in Robert of Gloucester’s Chron. p. 76. sqq.): brybaunce would seem to mean—plundering (properly, pilfering); see note on v. 1242. p. 256.

v. 1522. Alerycus] i. e. Alaric.

—— the Gothyaunce] i. e. the Goths.

—— swerd] i. e. sword.

v. 1524. maysyd] i. e. bewildered, confounded—stupid.

v. 1525. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 1526. Galba, whom his galantys garde for agaspe] i. e. (I suppose) Galba, whom his gallants (soldiers) made to gasp:—they assassinated him:—see gar in v. 1532.

v. 1527. nother set by] i. e. neither valued, regarded.

v. 1528. Vaspasyan, that bare in his nose a waspe] This passage is explained by the following lines of a poem never printed, entitled The Sege of Jerusalem:

“His fader Vaspasiane ferly bytydde A byke of waspes bredde in his nose Hyved vp in his hedde he hadde hem of thoght And Vaspasiane is called by cause of his waspes.”

MS. Cott. Calig. A. ii. fol. 109.

Page 274. v. 1529. agayne] i. e. against.

Page 275. v. 1531. crake] i. e. vaunt, talk bigly.

v. 1532. I shall frounce them on the foretop] To frounce is—to wrinkle, ruffle up, &c. In our author’s Phyllyp Sparowe, v. 1340. vol. i. 92, Charon is described as having a “frownsid fore top;” and in his Colyn Cloute, v. 533. vol. i. 331, “foretop” means simply—head, pate.

—— gar] i. e. make, cause.

v. 1538. auaunce] i. e. advance.

v. 1539. take it in degre] Seems equivalent here to—“take it in gre” (which occurs in v. 2005), i. e. take it kindly: see note, p. 95. v. 68.

v. 1544. ferre] i. e. far.

v. 1547. supprysed] i. e. overpowered, smitten.

v. 1549. Pullyshyd] i. e. Polished.

—— ornacy] i. e. ornate diction.

v. 1551. electe vtteraunce] i. e. choice expression.

v. 1554. feffyd and seasyd] i. e. enfeoffed and seised,—law-terms.

v. 1556. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 1557. comon] i. e. communing, discourse.

v. 1558. Poynt deuyse] See note on v. 852. p. 248.

Page 276. v. 1561. pore] i. e. poor.

v. 1564. semynge] i. e. beseeming, fitting.

v. 1568. maystresse] i. e. mistress.

v. 1569. That quyckly is enuyued with rudyes of the rose] i. e. That is lively envived with hues, or complexion, of the rose. This somewhat pleonastic expression is found again in our author’s Garlande of Laurell;

“Enuyuid picturis well touchid and quikly.”

v. 1161. vol. i. 408.

v. 1570. Inpurtured] i. e. Portrayed, pictured,—adorned.

v. 1571. The streynes of her vaynes] i. e. The strains, runnings of her veins.

“Rills rising out of euery banck, In wilde meanders strayne.”

Drayton’s Muses Elizium, p. 2. ed. 1630.

Page 276. v. 1571. as asure inde blewe] See note, p. 101. v. 17.

v. 1573. loke] i. e. look.

—— leyre] i. e. complexion, skin.

v. 1576. lusty] i. e. pleasant, desirable.

v. 1578. to brace and to basse] i. e. to embrace and to kiss.

v. 1579. by hym that hell dyd harowe] i. e. by our Saviour: see note, p. 150. v. 1291.

v. 1580. a Phylyp sparowe] See note, p. 121. v. 7.

v. 1581. whylest my hede dyd warke] i. e. until my head did work, ache. “Hedwerke sekenesse. Cephalia.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “Wark, to ache.” Hunter’s Hallam. Gloss. “But I may not stonde, myn hede werches soo.” Morte d’Arthur, B. xxi. c. v. vol. ii. 440. ed. Southey.

v. 1582. hobby for suche a lusty larke] See note on v. 1358. p. 258. The same metaphorical use of this expression occurs in our author’s Colyn Cloute, v. 194. vol. i. 318.

v. 1584. my flesshe wolde be wroken]—wroken, i. e. wreaked, satiated.

“Whyles thou art yonge ... Wreke the with wiueryng, if thou wilt be excused.”

Pierce Plowman, sig. M iii. ed. 1561.

v. 1585. consayte] i. e. conceit, fancy.

v. 1586. weryed I wolde be on] i. e. I would worry, eagerly devour: compare our author’s Phyllyp Sparowe, v. 29. vol. i. 52.

v. 1587. Cockes armes] i. e. God’s arms: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 1588. ony] i. e. any.

v. 1589. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1590. to be sped] i. e. to be made successful.

Page 277. v. 1592. make suche one to the call] A metaphor from falconry.

v. 1600. a sawte] i. e. an assault.

v. 1601. prece] i. e. press.

v. 1603. sone] i. e. soon.

v. 1604. intreted] i. e. prevailed on by solicitation.

v. 1606. broken] Seems to mean here—tame, assuage.

v. 1610. consayte] i. e. conceit, conception.

v. 1615. it shall not gretely skyll] i. e. it shall not make much difference, it shall not much signify.

Page 278. v. 1620. face it] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

v. 1621. Frete] i. e. Gnaw, fret.

v. 1626. lust and lykynge] See note, p. 98, v. 23.

Page 278. v. 1633. your gorge] i. e. what you have swallowed, the contents of your stomach: see note, p. 207. v. 87.

v. 1636. wambleth] “I Wamble as ones stomake dothe Ie allecte.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccc. (Table of Verbes). “Nauseo ... to wamble.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d.

v. 1638. wonder] i. e. wondrous.

v. 1640. harte seke] i. e. heart-sick.

—— me lyst] i. e. it pleases me.

v. 1641. coryed] i. e. curried, drubbed.

—— blyst] i. e. wounded,—thumped.

“Your lasy bones I pretende so to blisse, That you shall haue small luste to prate any more.”

The Triall of Treasure, 1567. sig. A iiii.

v. 1642. loute] i. e. bow, pay obeisance.

Page 279. v. 1652. at the contemplacyon] See note, p. 214, heading of Epitaph.

v. 1653. pore] i. e. poor.

v. 1657. sone] i. e. soon.

v. 1664. rowne] i. e. whisper: see note, p. 120. v. 513.

v. 1671. dyssayued] i. e. deceived.

v. 1673. wete] i. e. know.

v. 1677. I wyll haue hym rehayted and dyspysed] Our early poets frequently use rehete in the sense of—revive, cheer; a meaning foreign to the present passage. In the Towneley Mysteries, we find “rehett” and “rehete,” pp. 143, 198, which the Gloss. explains “to threaten;” qy. if rightly? In some copies of Chaucer’s Troilus and Creseide, B. iii. 350, is “reheting;” of which, says Tyrwhitt (Gloss. to Cant. Tales), “I can make no sense.” In G. Douglas’s Virgil’s Æneidos, B. xiii. p. 467. l. 53. ed. Rudd., and in the Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy, Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 74, 80. ed. Laing, is “rehatoure,” which has been referred to the French rehair: and perhaps rehayted in our text is—re-hated (Skelton afterwards in this piece, v. 2458, has the uncommon word inhateth).

v. 1679. rest] i. e. remain.

Page 280. v. 1682. supplyed] i. e. supplicated.

v. 1687. But for all that he is lyke to haue a glent] Glent is frequently found in the sense of—glance; but its meaning here, as would seem from the context, is—slip, fall: and in our author’s Garlande of Laurell we find,

“Go softly, she sayd, the stones be full glint [i. e. slippery].”

v. 572. vol. i. 384.

Page 280. v. 1688. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1692. What force ye] i. e. What care ye.

v. 1695. loke] i. e. look.

v. 1698. haftynge] See note, p. 107. v. 138.

v. 1702. woke] i. e. week.

v. 1703. sone] i. e. soon.

v. 1706. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 1709. comonynge] i. e. communing, conversing.

v. 1711. sad] i. e. grave, serious, sober, discreet.

Page 281. v. 1713. doute] i. e. fear.

v. 1715. ony] i. e. any.

v. 1718. be lykelyhod] i. e. by likelihood,—as it appeared.

v. 1719. to fode] i. e. to feed with words,—deceive. So in our author’s Bowge of Courte;

“Than Fauell gan wyth fayre speche me to fede.”

v. 147. vol. i. 36.

v. 1723. reserued] i. e. retained.

v. 1725. set a gnat By] i. e. value at a gnat, care a gnat for.

v. 1738. suche maystryes gan make]—suche maystryes, i. e. such disturbances from the consequence which you assumed: and see note on v. 151. p. 238.

Page 282. v. 1745. lurden] See note on v. 423. p. 242.

v. 1748. haynyarde] A term of reproach which I do not understand: but in our author’s Bowge of Courte, v. 327. vol. i. 42, hayne seems to mean—hind, slave, peasant.

v. 1749. cast] i. e. throw up.

v. 1751. bolle] i. e. bowl.

—— Goddes brede] i. e. God’s bread.

v. 1754. praty] i. e. pretty.

v. 1758. Cockes armes] i. e. God’s arms: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 1759. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1766. ony] i. e. any.

Page 283. v. 1772. Where as] i. e. Where.

v. 1775. No force] i. e. No matter.

v. 1776. pollynge] i. e. plundering.

v. 1778. parde] i. e. par dieu, verily.

—— largesse] i. e. liberality.

v. 1779. vergesse] i. e. verjuice.

v. 1782. gyse] i. e. guise, fashion.

v. 1786. taken] i. e. committed, consigned.

v. 1802. lowte] i. e. bow, pay obeisance.

Page 284. v. 1813. syth] i. e. since.

v. 1817. acquyte] i. e. requite.

v. 1820. solace] i. e. pleasure.

v. 1821. dyntes] i. e. blows.

v. 1822. Well were] i. e. In good condition were.

v. 1824. halse] }

v. 1825. clepe] }

Both words signify—embrace; with this distinction, that the former means properly—to throw the arms round the neck.

v. 1829. I befole thy brayne pan] i. e. I befool thy skull, head: see note, p. 100. v. 31.

Page 285. v. 1830. By our lakyn] See note on v. 341. p. 240.

v. 1831. My hawke is rammysshe] “Ramage is when a Hawk is wilde, coy, or disdainfull to the man, and contrary to be reclamed.” Latham’s Faulconry (Explan. of Words of Art), 1658.

v. 1833. warne] i. e. prevent.

v. 1835. ronner] i. e. runner.

—— fole] i. e. fool.

v. 1836. iarfawcon] See note, p. 134. v. 557.

v. 1838. ydder] i. e. udder.

v. 1840. slydder] i. e. slippery.

v. 1841. for God auowe] So presently, v. 1851, “I make God auowe:” see note, p. 109. v. 199.

—— chiydder] i. e. shiver.

v. 1842. Thy wordes hange togyder as fethers in the wynde] An expression which occurs again in our author’s Speke, Parrot, v. 295. vol. ii. 14. So too in a comedy (before quoted), The longer thou liuest, the more foole thou art, &c. Newly compiled by W. Wager, n. d.;

“A song much like thauthour of the same, It hangeth together like fethers in the winde.”

Sig. D ii.

v. 1844. carle] i. e. churl.

v. 1848. a losell lede a lurden] i. e. one good-for-nothing fellow lead another: see note, p. 209. v. 138, and note on v. 423 of the present poem, p. 242.

v. 1849. sowter] i. e. shoemaker, cobbler.

v. 1850. Cockes harte] i. e. God’s heart: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 1853. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 1854. I shall gyue you a gaude of a goslynge that I gaue] Gaud is found in the sense of—jest, trick, toy, &c.: but the line (perhaps corrupted) is beyond my comprehension.

v. 1856. reue] i. e. steward, bailiff.

v. 1858. syke] i. e. such.

Page 285. v. 1859. Sadylgose] i. e. Saddle-goose.

—— Dawcocke] See note, p. 113. v. 301.

Page 286. v. 1860. garre] i. e. make, cause.

v. 1862. bytter] i. e. bittern.

v. 1864. to grame] i. e. to be angry,—or perhaps to grieve; the word being found in both senses.

v. 1865. snyte] i. e. snipe.

v. 1868. loke] i. e. look.

v. 1871. Ye] i. e. Yea.

—— iapes] i. e. jests, jokes.

v. 1876. sone] i. e. soon.

v. 1882. mo] i. e. more.

v. 1886. payntyd] See note, p. 176. v. 583.

v. 1887. demenour] i. e. director: see note, p. 134. v. 553.

Page 287. v. 1891. largesse] i. e. liberality.

v. 1892. fondnesse] i. e. folly.

v. 1896. rode] i. e. rood, cross: see note, p. 206. v. 69.

v. 1898. broder] i. e. brother.

v. 1899. lokys] i. e. looks.

v. 1900. clokys] i. e. claws—clutches; see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v. Cleuck.

v. 1903. quyte] i. e. requite.

v. 1904. velyarde] i. e. old man, dotard.

—— dynt] i. e. blow.

v. 1906. losell] See note, p. 209. v. 138.

v. 1908. hyght] i. e. am called.

v. 1910. rughly] i. e. roughly.

v. 1912. lust] i. e. pleasure, liking.

v. 1913. lurden] See note on v. 423. p. 242.

v. 1915. set by hym a flye] i. e. value him at a fly, care a fly for him.

v. 1916. brace] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

v. 1917. loke] i. e. look.

v. 1918. to] i. e. too.

Page 288. v. 1928. carbuckyls] i. e. carbuncles.

v. 1930. lyppers] i. e. lepers.

v. 1932. Some with the marmoll to halte I them make]—marmoll, i. e. old sore, ulcer, gangrene. “Marmoll a sore lovp.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlvii. (Table of Subst.). Skelton recollected Chaucer;

“But gret harm was it, as it thoughte me, That on his shinne a mormal hadde he.”

Prol. to Cant. Tales, v. 387.

on which passage see Tyrwhitt’s note.

Page 288. v. 1934. brennynge] i. e. burning.

v. 1936. walter] i. e. tumble, roll. “I Walter I tumble, Ie me voystre.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccc. (Table of Verbes).

v. 1939. sle] i. e. slay.

v. 1945. Lydderyns] i. e. Lydder, wicked, persons: so in our author’s Garlande of Laurell, “Some lidderons, some losels,” &c. v. 188. vol. i., 369.

—— set by] i. e. value, regard.

Page 289. v. 1958. franesy] i. e. frensy.

v. 1960. worshyp] i. e. honour, dignity.

v. 1961. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 1962. loke] i. e. look.

v. 1966. sadly] i. e. gravely, seriously, soberly, discreetly.

v. 1967. preposytour] i. e. a scholar appointed by the master to overlook the rest. “I am preposyter of my boke. Duco classem.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. R viii. ed. 1530.

v. 1968. theyr wanton vagys]—vagys, i. e. vagaries, strayings. Richardson in his Dict. gives an example of this substantive (vagues) from Holinshed.

v. 1977. mo] i. e. more.

v. 1979. Howe] i. e. Ho.

v. 1980. lore] i. e. teaching.

v. 1984. vnlykynge] i. e. in poor condition of body. “The strength and lustinesse, or well lykyng of my body.” Palsgrave’s Acolastus, 1540. sig. U iiii. “I am withered,” says Falstaff, “like an old apple-John. Well, I’ll repent, and that suddenly, while I am in some liking.” Shakespeare’s Henry IV. Part i. act iii. sc. 3.

Page 290. v. 1989. enuy] i. e. ill-will, grudge.

v. 1993. golde and fe] See note, p. 234. v. 267.

v. 1995. thought] See note, p. 101. v. 10.

v. 2004. syth] i. e. since.

—— no nother] A not unfrequent form in our early writers,—i. e. none other.

v. 2005. take it in gre] i. e. take it kindly: see note, p. 95, v. 68.

v. 2006. a noble estate] i. e. a person of noble estate or rank.

v. 2014. Ye] i. e. Yea.

Page 291. v. 2026. loke] i. e. look.

v. 2034. cawdels] According to the custom of great persons. So in the ballad of Glasgerion;

“He harped in the kinges chambere, Where cuppe and caudle stoode.”

Percy’s Rel. of A. E. P., iii. 43. ed. 1794.

Page 291. v. 2035. mamockes] “Mammocks, leavings, wasted fragments.” Forby’s Vocab. of East Anglia.

v. 2037. fayne] i. e. glad.

v. 2038. pomped] In our text at least is equivalent to—pampered.

“The pomped clerkes with foles [fodes] delicous Erth often fedeth,” &c.

Hawes’s Pastime of Pleasure, sig. B b iiii. ed. 1555.

v. 2040. to be drawe] i. e. to be drawn over, covered.

v. 2042. shertes of Raynes] i. e. shirts made of the delicate species of linen manufactured at Rennes in Brittany.

v. 2044. happed] i. e. covered.

Page 292. v. 2054. sykernesse] i. e. security, sureness.

v. 2061. plete] i. e. plead.

v. 2064. lyther] i. e. bad,—inactive.

v. 2066. leuer] i. e. more willingly.

v. 2070. they rynne to in manus tuas queche]—rynne, i. e. run,—they quickly come to be hanged, when they say In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum.

v. 2072. mary] i. e. by the Virgin Mary.

—— mote] i. e. may.

v. 2073. too] i. e. toe.

v. 2077. rydlesse] In v. 2445 is “redlesse,” which properly means—devoid of counsel: but Skelton seems to use both forms in the sense of—unavailing.

v. 2080. bloo] i. e. livid: see note, p. 103. v. 3.

Page 293. v. 2093. I garde her gaspe, I garde her gle]—garde, i. e. made, caused: gle, i. e., perhaps, squint; see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v. Gley.

v. 2094. daunce on the le] A fragment, it would seem, of some song: le, i. e. lea.

v. 2095. bassed] i. e. kissed.

v. 2096. the bote of all my bale] i. e. the remedy or help of all my evil or sorrow.

“God send every good man bote of his bale.”

Chaucer’s Chanones Yemannes Tale, v. 16949. ed. Tyr.

v. 2097. farre fet] i. e. far-fetched.

v. 2098. louesome] i. e. lovely one.

Page 293. v. 2098. let] i. e. leave, desist.

v. 2100. patlet]—or partlet,—i. e. a sort of ruff, or rather neck-kerchief: see Strutt’s Dress and Habits, &c. ii. 368.

v. 2104. lust and lykynge] See note, p. 98. v. 23.

v. 2106. me lyst] i. e. pleases me.

Page 294. v. 2113. hardely] i. e. assuredly.

v. 2114. to moche] i. e. too much.

v. 2115. not worth an hawe] A common expression in our early poetry;

“Your wo appease which is not worth an haw.”

Lydgate’s Warres of Troy, B. ii. sig. I iiii. ed. 1555.

v. 2116. to free of the dawe] Equivalent, I suppose, to—too much fooling: see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 2117. sad] See note on v. 1966. p. 267.

v. 2121. to to out of harre] See notes on v. 881. p. 249, and v. 921. p. 250.

v. 2123. iettynge] i. e. strutting: see note, p. 94. v. 43.

—— iapes] i. e. jests, jokes.

v. 2124. mowynge] i. e. making mouths, grimacing.

—— iackenapes] i. e. monkey.

v. 2132. brothell] Was formerly applied as a term of reproach to the worthless of either sex:

“Of this daye gladde was many a brothell That myght haue an ore with Cocke Lorell.”

Cocke Lorelles bote, n. d. sig. C ii.

v. 2135. Cockes armes] i. e. God’s arms: see note on v. 518, p. 243.

v. 2138. lurden] See note on v. 423. p. 242.

v. 2141. largesse] i. e. liberality.

v. 2143. conuenyent] i. e. fit, suitable.

Page 295. v. 2148. poddynge prycke] i. e. skewer that fastens the pudding-bag.

v. 2150. pot sharde] i. e. potsherd.

v. 2151. the spence of a noble] i. e. the expense or spending of a noble,—the gold coin so called.

v. 2152. c. s. i. e. a hundred shillings.

v. 2155. occupyed] Though our author, according to his occasionally pleonastic style, has in the next line but one, “occupyed and vsyd,” the words are synonymous: see note, p. 86. v. 52.

v. 2156. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 2159. retchlesse] i. e. reckless.

Page 285. v. 2162. rynne] i. e. run.

v. 2164. it shall not gretly skyll] See note on v. 1615. p. 262.

v. 2165. spyll] i. e. destroy.

v. 2166. some fall prechynge at the Toure Hyll] So in Thenterlude of Youth, n. d.;

“By our Lady he dyd promote the To make the preche at the galowe tre.”

Sig. B i.

v. 2168. nother they set by] i. e. neither they value, regard.

v. 2171. lusty to loke on] i. e. pleasant to look on.

v. 2172. nonnes] i. e. nuns.

—— ryn] i. e. run.

v. 2173. Freers] i. e. Friars.

—— fayne] i. e. glad, joyful.

v. 2177. rechate] See note, p. 234. v. 215.

Page 296. v. 2186. brast] i. e. burst.

v. 2187. spewe and cast] One of Skelton’s pleonasms.

v. 2188. gotted ... to thy share]—gotted, i. e. gotten.

v. 2193. ye] i. e. yea.

v. 2194. to wed] i. e. for a pawn, pledge.

v. 2195. a daggeswane] i. e. a rough sort of coverlet. “Dagswayne. Lodex.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “My bedde is couered with a daggeswayne and a quylte ... gausape ...”—“Some daggeswaynes haue longe thrummes & iagges on bothe sydes: some but on one.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. g iii. ed. 1530.

—— ony] i. e. any.

v. 2196. metely well] “Metely: Moyennement. Assez,” &c. Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxliii. (Table of Aduerbes). “He is metely lerned. Mediocriter doctus est.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. R viii. ed. 1530.

v. 2197. dele] i. e. part, bit.

v. 2198. in the deuyls date] See note, p. 116. v. 375.

v. 2201. the messe] i. e. the Mass.

Page 297. v. 2204. hose] i. e. breeches.

v. 2207. skelpe] i. e. slap, strike: see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang.

v. 2208. loke] i. e. look.

v. 2209. Cockes bones] i. e. God’s bones: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

—— blysse] See note on v. 1641. p. 263.

v. 2210. dynge the deuyll]—dynge, i. e. strike, knock. So again in our author’s poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c.;

“And the deuill downe dynge.”

v. 210. vol. ii. 74.

Compare The Droichis Part of the Play, attributed to Dunbar;

“That dang the devill, and gart him yowle.”

Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 38. ed. Laing.

Page 297. v. 2210. holde] i. e. holden, held.

v. 2211. rede] i. e. advice.

v. 2214. wrynge thy be in a brake] Some cant expression: brake, see note, p. 168. v. 324, and note on Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 980.

v. 2215. dawe] i. e. simpleton: see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 2216. fawchyn] i. e. cut.

v. 2217. cauell] “Kevil, Kephyl, A horse, contemptuously applied to a person, ‘thou girt kevil.’” The Dialect of Craven, &c. Compare Lydgate’s verses, entitled in the Catalogue, Advices for people to keep a guard over their tongues;

“I saugh a kevell corpulent of stature, Lyk a materas redlyd was his coote,” &c.

MS. Harl. 2255. fol. 132.

v. 2218. iauell] “Iauell. Ioppus.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. Of this common term of contempt (which Skelton uses in other passages) the meaning and etymology are uncertain. Todd (Johnson’s Dict. in v.) explains it “A wandering or dirty fellow;” shews that it is sometimes written jabel; and would derive it from the verb, javel, jable, or jarble, to bemire, to bedew. Nares (Gloss. in v.) refers it to the French javelle, which sometimes means “a faggot of brush-wood or other worthless materials.” The compiler of the Gloss. to The Towneley Mysteries (under Hawvelle) considers it equivalent to—jabberer.

Page 298. v. 2223. iche] i. e. I.

v. 2224. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 2229. all one] i. e. all agreed.

v. 2233. rode] i. e. road, cross: see note, p. 206. v. 69.

v. 2234. blode] i. e. blood.

v. 2235. By our lakyn] See note on v. 341. p. 240.

v. 2242. acomberyd] i. e. encumbered, troubled.

v. 2243. Goddys fote] i. e. God’s foot.

v. 2244. facyd] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

v. 2246. condycyons] See note, p. 183. v. 12.

Page 299. v. 2248. bracyd] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

v. 2249. defaute] i. e. default, defect.

v. 2250. to haute] i. e. too haughty.

v. 2252. pratyer] i. e. prettier.

v. 2258. gardeuyaunce] In a note on Dunbar’s Freir of Tungland, Lord Hailes observes that gardyvians is “literally garde de viande, or cupboard; but there it implies his cabinet;” and Mr. D. Laing adds, “rather, a portable cabinet.” Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 243. Skelton appears to use the word in the sense of—trunk: and Palsgrave has “Gardeuyans bahus.” Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xxxv. (Table of Subst.)

Page 299. v. 2259. bowget] i. e. budget.

v. 2260. male] i. e. bag, wallet.

v. 2262. Your trymynge and tramynge by me must be tangyd] The reader will hardly expect that I should attempt any precise explanation of this line.

v. 2264. When we with Magnyfycence goodys made cheuysaunce]—cheuysaunce, i. e. booty: see note, p. 107. v. 100. Compare Gower;

“Right as a thefe maketh his cheuesance, And robbeth mens gooddes aboute,” &c.

Conf. Am. B. v. fol. cxvi. ed. 1554.

v. 2265. wengaunce] i. e. vengeance.

v. 2266. banne and wary] “I warrye, I banne or curse, Ie mauldis.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccci. (Table of Verbes). Barclay is even more pleonastic than Skelton;

“And your vnkindnes weray, ban and curse.”

The Ship of Fooles, fol. 22. ed. 1570.

v. 2268. Cockys bonys] i. e. God’s bones; see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 2270. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 2275. gaure] i. e. stare: see Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales. Yet Palsgrave has “I Gaure I krye, Ie hue. Howe he gaureth after his hauke: Cōment il heue apres son oyseau.” Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccxliiii. (Table of Verbes).

Page 300. v. 2276. yll hayle] See note, p. 176. v. 617.

v. 2283. the gowte and the gyn] If gyn means (as the context seems to prove) some bodily ailment, I know not what it is.

v. 2287. murre] i. e. severe cold with hoarseness.

—— pose] i. e. rheum in the head.

v. 2288. requiem æternam groweth forth of his nose] Heywood has a similar expression;

“Hunger droppeth euen out of both their noses.”

Dialogue, &c. sig. D 4.—Workes, ed. 1598.

And Cotgrave; “Chishe-face ... one out of whose nose hunger drops.” Dict.

v. 2291. the halfe strete] On the Bank-side, Southwark,—where the stews were: it is mentioned in the following curious passage of Cocke Lorelles bote, n. d. (where the “wynde fro wynchester” alludes to the temporary suppression of the Southwark stews at the intercession of the Bishop of Winchester);

“Syr this pardon is newe founde By syde London brydge in a holy grounde Late called the stewes banke Ye knowe well all that there was Some relygyous women in that place To whome men offred many a franke And bycause they were so kynde and lyberall A merueylous auenture there is be fall Yf ye lyst to here how There came suche a wynde fro wynchester That blewe these women ouer the ryuer In wherye as I wyll you tell Some at saynt Kateryns stroke a grounde And many in holborne were founde Some at saynt Gyles I trowe Also in aue maria aly and at westmenster And some in shordyche drewe theder With grete lamentacyon And by cause they haue lost that fayre place They wyll bylde at colman hedge in space Another noble mansyon Fayrer and euer the halfe strete was For euery house newe paued is with gras Shall be full of fayre floures The walles shall be of hauthorne I wote well And hanged wᵗ whyte motly yᵗ swete doth smell Grene shall be the coloures And as for this olde place these wenches holy They wyll not haue it called the stewys for foly But maketh it strabery banke.”

Sig. B iv.

Page 300. v. 2293. motton] Long after Skelton’s time, as the readers of our early dramatists will recollect, mutton was a favourite cant term for a prostitute.

v. 2294. Ye ... to] i. e. Yea ... too.

v. 2295. queysy mete] “Quaisy as meate or drike is, dangereux.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xciii. (Table of Adiect.). Compare Jyl of Braintfords Testament, n. d.;

“I pray you fil you not to much of the mutton I promise you that it is very queisy.”

Sig. A.

Page 300. v. 2297. In fay] i. e. In faith.

—— froty] Is frequently, as here, used by our early writers for—forty.

v. 2303. at all assayes] See note on v. 433. p. 242.

Page 301. v. 2311. sleeth] i. e. slayeth.

v. 2315. bronde] i. e. brand.

v. 2316. stonde] i. e. stand.

v. 2319. lewdly] i. e. vilely, basely (but here it seems to be used as an adjective).

v. 2320. to] i. e. too.

v. 2322. fer] i. e. far.

v. 2324. loke] i. e. look.

v. 2330. agayne] i. e. against.

Page 302. v. 2332. wyte] i. e. blame.

v. 2333. rede] i. e. counsel.

v. 2335. Ye] i. e. Yea.

—— ryd thy selfe] i. e. set free thyself,—despatch thyself.

v. 2336. to] i. e. too.

v. 2340. honge] i. e. hang.

v. 2342. tonge] i. e. thong.

v. 2343. throte bole] i. e. throat-bowl,—protuberance of the throat. “Throte gole or throte bole, neu de la gorge, gosier.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxx. (Table of Subst.). In Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d. is “Epiglotum, a throte bolle.”—“It is not impossible,” says Warton, alluding to this passage, “that Despare [Myschefe] offering the knife and the halter, might give a distant hint to Spenser.” Hist. of E. P. (Em. and Ad. to p. 363 of vol. ii.) ed. 4to. See The Faerie Queene, i. ix. 50.

—— slee] i. e. slay.

v. 2351. to] i. e. too.

v. 2352. Out, harowe]—harowe (variously spelt) is common in our early poetry as an exclamation of alarm or sudden distress, or an outcry for help. “Interiectyons of outkrye: Haro. as Haro alarme trahy trahy.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530, last folio. On the origin of the word see Du Cange’s Gloss. in vv. Haro, Haroep; Tyrwhitt’s note on v. 3286 of Chaucer’s Cant. Tales; Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v. Harro; and Roquefort’s Gloss. to La Lang. Rom. in v. Harau.

—— hyll] i. e. hell.

v. 2353. combred] i. e. encumbered, troubled.

v. 2354. sloo] i. e. slay.

—— nature and kynde] A pleonastic expression.

Page 303. v. 2357. sautes] i. e. assaults.

v. 2361. soner] i. e. sooner.

v. 2362. luge] i. e. (I suppose) lodge, abode.

v. 2365. wanhope] i. e. want of hope,—despair. “Desperatio. wanhope.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d. “Wanhope desespoir.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxxiii. (Table of Subst.). In some of our early writers, however, we find a distinction made between wanhope and despair.

v. 2370. dysease] i. e. uneasiness, pain.

v. 2373. ony] i. e. any.

v. 2375. ne] i. e. nor.

v. 2383. lectuary] i. e. electuary.

v. 2387. gommes goostly] i. e. gums ghostly, spiritual.

—— herte] i. e. heart.

v. 2388. To thanke God of his sonde]—his sonde, i. e. his sending,—his providential dispensation.

Page 304. v. 2392. fote] i. e. foot.

v. 2394. mode] i. e. mood.

v. 2398. dyscryue] Signifies—describe; but in the present passage it would seem to mean—discover, search, try.

v. 2406. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 2411. sone] i. e. soon.

Page 305. v. 2430. apayed] i. e. satisfied, pleased.

v. 2433. abylyment] i. e. habiliment.

v. 2434. aduysement] i. e. consideration, heed.

v. 2435. confyrmable] i. e. conformable.

v. 2444. to] i. e. too.

v. 2445. redlesse] See note on v. 2077. p. 268.

v. 2449. to accompte you the contynewe of my consayte] i. e. to tell you the continuation, the rest, of my conceit, conception.

Page 306. v. 2455. sad] See note on v. 1711. p. 264.

v. 2457. that is no nay] i. e. that is not to be denied.

v. 2458. inhateth] Skelton’s fondness for compound words has been already noticed (see note, p. 105. v. 31); and here most probably inhateth was not intended to convey a stronger meaning than—hateth.

—— rennynge] i. e. running.

v. 2460. ne can] i. e. can not.

v. 2465. largesse] i. e. liberality.

v. 2467. thorowly ingrosed] i. e. (as the context would seem to shew) fully written out.

v. 2468. Pountes] i. e. Pontoise.

Page 306. v. 2469. hyght] i. e. is called.

v. 2474. to] i. e. too.

Page 307. v. 2479. ouerthrow] i. e. overthrown.

v. 2481. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 2485. hafters] See note, p. 107. v. 138.

—— forfende] i. e. forbid, prohibit.

v. 2493. sentence] i. e. meaning.

v. 2494. corage] i. e. heart, affection.

—— flyt] i. e. remove.

v. 2499. worshyp] i. e. honour, dignity.

v. 2500. sadnesse] See note on v. 1382. p. 259.

Page 308. v. 2503. I wyll refrayne you ferther, or we flyt] i. e. I will question you farther before we remove (refrayne being here, it would seem, according to Skelton’s use of such compounds, equivalent to the simple, and not uncommon word,—frayne).

v. 2506. processe] i. e. relation, discourse: see notes, p. 143. v. 735. p. 146. v. 969. p. 194. v. 157, &c.

v. 2507. Syth] i. e. Since.

—— erectyd] See note on v. 95. p. 237.

v. 2508. aforse me] i. e. exert myself, do my endeavour.

v. 2510. warkys] i. e. works.

v. 2513. largesse] i. e. liberality.

—— to] i. e. too.

v. 2517. the nygarde nor the chyncherde] Synonymous terms. “Chynche or chynchare. Preparcus.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 2518. negarship] i. e. niggardship.

v. 2522. fumously adresse you with magnanymyte] i. e. hotly, vigorously provide, furnish yourself with, &c.

v. 2525. affyaunce] i. e. trust.

v. 2534. this processe] i. e. this drama of Magnyfycence: (so presently, “this interlude” v. 2548, “this treatyse” v. 2562, “this mater” v. 2576:) see note on v. 2506, above.

Page 309. v. 2539. seke[r]nesse] i. e. security, sureness.

v. 2541. lawe] i. e. low; as in v. 190.

v. 2544. leue] i. e. willing.

v. 2550. auaunsyd] i. e. advanced.

v. 2557. lacke] i. e. fault, blame.

v. 2563. comberyd] i. e. encumbered, troubled.

Page 310. v. 2573. maysterfest] i. e. master-fast.

v. 2577. Precely purposyd vnder pretence of play]—Precely, i. e. Pressly, seems to mean here—seriously (rather than—expressly).

Page 310. v. 2583. the terestre rechery] If “rechery” be the right reading, I know not what it means. Qy. “trechery?” as before, v. 2046,

“Fye on this worlde, full of trechery.”

—— flode] i. e. flood.

v. 2585. Ensordyd] Could only, I presume, mean—defiled: but qy., as the context seems to require, “Ensorbyd,” i. e. sucked in, swallowed?

—— wawys] i. e. waves.

—— wode] i. e. mad, raging.

v. 2586. brast] i. e. burst,—break.

v. 2588. hym] Must be an error of the press for “hymselfe;” compare v. 2581.

v. 2590. syttynge] i. e. proper, becoming.

v. 2591. ryalte] i. e. royalty.

v. 2593. indeuer] i. e. endure, continue, dwell.

COLYN CLOUTE.

This powerful and original poem must have been circulated in MS., probably for a considerable time, before it was given to the press; for from a passage towards the conclusion, v. 1239, we learn that those against whom its satire was directed would not “suffer it to be printed.” In Colyn Cloute Skelton appears to have commenced his attacks on Wolsey.

“I could never conceive, Mr. Warton, to what Drayton alludes, in the preface to his Eclogues, where he says, that ‘the Colin Clout of SCOGAN, under Henry the seventh, is pretty.’ He is speaking of pastoral poetry; and adds, that ‘Barklays ship of fools hath twenty wiser in it.’ You somewhere say [Hist. of E. P. iii. 76, note, ed. 4to], ‘he must mean SKELTON;’ but what PASTORAL did HE write?” Ritson’s Obs. on Warton’s Hist. of E. P., p. 20 (note); see too his Bibl. Poet., p. 99. I believe that Drayton did mean Skelton. Colyn Cloute is surely as much a pastoral as Barclay’s Ship of Fooles,—as much perhaps as even Barclay’s Egloges.

—— Quis consurget mecum, &c.] Vulg. Psal. xciii. 16, where “Quis consurget mihi,” &c.

—— Nemo, Domine] Id. Joan. viii. 11.

Page 311. v. 1.

What can it auayle To dryue forth a snayle]

So in Gentylnes and Nobylyte, n. d. (attributed without grounds to Heywood);

“In effect it shall no more auayle Than with a whyp to dryfe a snayle.”

Sig. C ii.

Page 311. v. 9. bokes] i. e. books.

Page 312. v. 20. He pryeth and he peketh] See note, p. 244. v. 667. So Gascoigne;

“That other pries and peekes in euerie place.”

The Steele Glasse, fol. 301,—Workes, ed. 1587.

v. 28. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 29. scole] i. e. school.

v. 30. a thre foted stole] i. e. a three-footed stool.

v. 36. The deuyll, they say, is dede] Heywood has six Epigrams on this proverbial expression,—Workes, sig. N 2. ed. 1598. Ray gives, “Heigh ho, the Devil is dead.” Proverbs, p. 55. ed. 1768.

Page 313, v. 51. connyng bagge] i. e. bag, store, of knowledge or learning.

v. 52. hagge] See note, p. 99. v. 19.

v. 53. though my ryme be ragged] So Sir D. Lyndsay; “my rural raggit vers.” Prol. to Monarchie,—Works, ii. 330. ed. Chalmers; and Spenser, “My ragged rimes.” F. Queene, i. xii. 23.

v. 54. iagged] See note, p. 163. v. 124.

v. 56. moughte eaten] i. e. moth-eaten.

v. 66. blother] i. e. gabble.

v. 67. The tone agayng] i. e. The one against.

v. 68. shoder] i. e. shudder.

v. 69. hoder moder] i. e. hugger-mugger.

Page 314. v. 70. faute] i. e. fault.

v. 71. ben so haut] i. e. be so haughty.

v. 72. loke] i. e. look.

v. 77. sely] i. e. silly, simple, harmless.

v. 79. wull] i. e. wool.

v. 80. Vnethes] i. e. Scarcely.

v. 82. connynge] i. e. knowledge, learning.

v. 83, A glommynge] i. e. A glumming, a looking gloomy, sour.

—— a mummynge] Compare our author elsewhere;

“Men of suche maters make but a mummynge.”

Garlande of Laurell, v. 200. vol. i. 370.

“Thhere was amonge them no worde then but mum.”

Id. v. 1118. p. 406.

“But play scylens and glum, Can say nothynge but mum.”

v. 906 of the present poem.

v. 84. iape] i. e. jest, joke.

v. 87. hole] i. e. whole.

Page 314. v. 89. the forked cap] i. e. the mitre.

“No wise man is desirous to obtayne The forked cappe without he worthy be.”

Barclay’s Ship of Fooles, fol. 236. ed. 1570.

v. 90. to lewd] i. e. too wicked, vile.

v. 91. all beshrewd] i. e. altogether cursed.

v. 99. For other mennes skyll]—skyll, i. e. reason: the line seems to mean—Notwithstanding other men’s reasons.

Page 315. v. 107. solfa so alamyre]—alamire is the lowest note but one in Guido Aretine’s scale of music: Gayton, in his Notes upon Don Quixote, 1654, says (metaphorically) that Maritornes “plaid her part so wel, that she run through all the keyes from A-la-mi-re to double Gammut,” &c. p. 83.

v. 108. premenyre] i. e. præmunire.

v. 115. heedes] i. e. heads.

v. 119. warke] i. e. work.

Page 316. v. 137.

A great parte is for slouth, But the greattest parte Is for they haue but small arte And ryght sklender connyng Within theyr heedes wonnyng]

—— sklender connyng, i. e. slender knowledge, learning: wonnyng, i. e. dwelling. The meaning of the passage is—a great part of this is owing to their laziness, but it is chiefly to be attributed to their ignorance, &c.

Page 317. v. 151. werkes] i. e. works.

v. 152. Ure] i. e. Urias.

v. 154. werryn] i. e. hinder, ward off.

v. 159. heery] i. e. hairy.

v. 160. Set nought by] i. e. Value not.

—— ne] i. e. nor.

v. 162. mell] i. e. meddle.

v. 163.

loth to hang the bell Aboute the cattes necke]

So Heywood;

“And I will hang the bell about the cats necke: For I will first breake and ieoperd the first checke.”

Dialogue, &c. sig. D 3,—Workes, ed. 1598.

See Pierce Plowman, where one of the rats proposes that a bell should be hung about the cat’s neck. Sig. A iii. ed. 1561; and Ray’s Proverbs, p. 85. ed. 1768.

Page 317. v. 166. to play deuz decke] An allusion, I suppose, to some game.

v. 167. for the becke] i. e. to obey the nod of command.

v. 169. Moche herted] i. e. Much hearted.

v. 178. combred] i. e. encumbered.

Page 318. v. 181. Sho the mockysshe mare] So in our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte;

“And Mocke hath lost her shoo.”

v. 83. vol. ii. 29.

v. 182. wynche and keke] i. e. wince and kick.

v. 183. not worth a leke] An expression not uncommon in our early poetry:

“No fallow wourth ane leik.”

G. Douglas’s King Hart,—Pinkerton’s An. Scot. Poems from Maitl. MSS. i. 42.

“Such loue I preise not at a leke.”

Chaucer’s Rom. of the Rose, fol. 130,—Workes, ed. 1602.

v. 190.

Amende whan ye may, For, usque ad montem Sare, Men say ye can not appare]

—appare, i. e. impair. The meaning of this passage,—in which (as I have already noted ad loc.) it seems probable from a comparison of the MS. and the printed copies, that Skelton used the forms “Seire” and “appeire,”—is—Amend when ye may, for it is said by every body, even as far as Mount Seir, that ye cannot be worse than ye are. The Latin words are a quotation from the Vulgate: “Et circuit de Baala contra occidentem, usque ad montem Seir.” Josue, xv. 10.

v. 194. hauke on hobby larkes] See notes, p. 258. v. 1358. p. 262. v. 1582.

v. 195. warkes] i. e. works.

v. 198. The gray gose for to sho] Hoccleve uses this proverbial expression;

“Ye medle of al thyng, ye moot shoo the goos.”

Poems, p. 13. ed. 1796.

and Heywood has the following Epigram;

“Of common medlers.

”He that medleth with all thing, may shoe the gosling. If all such medlers were set to goose shoing, No goose need go barefoote betweene this and Greece, For so we should haue as many goose shoers as geese.”

Sig. P 2,—Workes, ed. 1598.

See also Davies’s Scourge of Follie (Prouerbs), n. d. p. 175.

Page 319. v. 209. pranes] i. e. prawns.

v. 211. werynge] i. e. wearing.

v. 213. ne peason] i. e. nor peas.

v. 214. loke to be let lose] i. e. look to be let loose.

v. 215. gose] i. e. goose.

v. 216.

Your gorge not endewed Without a capon, &c.]

Equivalent to—You not digesting any thing except, &c.: see notes, p. 207. v. 78. and v. 87.

v. 218. a stewed cocke] Compare the following passage in the Interlude of the iiii Elementes, n. d.;

“Tauerner. Though all capons be gone what than yet I can get you a stewed hen That is redy dyght.

Humanyte. yf she be fat yt wyll do well.

Tauerner. Fat or lene I cannot tell But as for this I wot well She lay at the stewes all nyght.”

Sig. B. vi.

v. 219.

To knowe whate ys a clocke Vnder her surfled [MS. surfuld] smocke]

Compare Heywood’s Dialogue, &c.;

“Howbeit suddenly she minded on a day, To pick the chest locke, wherein this bagge lay: ... But streight as she had forthwith opened the locke, And look’t in the bagge, what it was a clocke,” &c.

Sig. K 3,—Workes, ed. 1598.

In our author’s Garlande of Laurell we find,

“With burris rowth and bottons surffillyng [MS. surfullinge].”

v. 803. vol. i. 394.

which is cited (Dict. in v. Surfel) by Richardson, who, after quoting from Gifford that “To surphule or surfel the cheeks, is to wash them with mercurial or sulphur water,” &c., adds that Gifford’s “explanation does not extend to the passage from Skelton.” The fact seems to be that Skelton uses surfle for purfle, i. e. border, embroider: and I may notice that Brathwait, on the other hand, seems to employ purfle for surfle;

“With painting, purfling, and a face of Art.”

A Strappado for the Diuell, 1615. p. 150.

Page 319. v. 222.

And howe whan ye gyue orders In your prouinciall borders, As at Sitientes, &c.]

Sitientes is the first word of the Introit of the Mass for Passion Sunday (“Sitientes, venite ad aquas, dicit Dominus,” &c., Isaiah lv. 1). For this note I am indebted to W. Dyce, Esq., who further observes that Sitientes Saturday was of old, and is now abroad, the Saturday before Passion Sunday.

Page 320. v. 233. renne they in euery stede] i. e. run they in every place.

v. 234. nolles] i. e. heads.

v. 239. Pystle] i. e. Epistle.

v. 243. prymes and houres] i. e. the devotions so named.

v. 248. vagabundus] i. e. vagabonds.

v. 251. ale stake] i. e. stake set up before an ale-house by way of sign.

v. 252. welcome hake and make] An expression which I have not elsewhere met with. Ray gives among North Country words, “To hake, To sneak, or loiter:” in Hunter’s Hallam. Gloss. is “A haking fellow, an idle loiterer;” and in a song cited by Mr. J. P. Collier (Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poet., ii. 472) from a MS. drama called Misogonus by T. Richards, we find,—

“With Bes and Nell we love to dwell In kissinge and in hakinge.”

—make is common in the sense of—mate, companion.

Page 321. v. 262. stylla] i. e. still.

v. 263. wylla] i. e. will.

v. 264. pekes] See note, p. 129. v. 409.

v. 266. faute] i. e. fault.

v. 267. apposed] i. e. questioned, examined. “He was apposed, or examyned of his byleue. De religione appellatus est.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. D ii. ed. 1530.

v. 269. connyng] i. e. knowledge, learning.

Page 322. v. 284. Tom a thrum] See note, p. 189. v. 204.

v. 293.

There shall no clergy appose A myter nor a crose, But a full purse]—clergy, i. e. erudition.

“Androgeus by kyng Mynos was sent, For he should profite in cleargy, To Athens.”

Lydgate’s Fall of Prynces, B. I. leaf xii. ed. Wayland.

—appose seems to be used in a different sense from that in which we have just had it (v. 267), and to be equivalent to—procure: crose, i. e. crosier.

Page 322. v. 299. a hermoniake] A term I am unable to explain.

v. 303. Ouer] i. e. Besides.

—— the foresayd laye] i. e. the above-mentioned laity.

v. 305. anker] i. e. anchorite.

v. 310.

To ryde vpon a mule With golde all betrapped]

Perhaps, as Warton thinks (note on Hist. of E. P., ii. 347. ed. 4to), an allusion to Wolsey: afterwards in this poem, the Cardinal appears to be pointed at more plainly.

Page 323. v. 312. purple and paule] An expression which frequently occurs, more particularly in ballad-poetry (considered by Percy and others as equivalent to—purple robe): paule, i. e. pall, rich or fine cloth.

v. 316. Raynes] See note, p. 268. v. 2042.

v. 317. morowes mylke] i. e. morning’s milk.

v. 318. tabertes] Tabards,—jackets or coats, without sleeves, close before and behind, and open at the sides, are still worn by heralds: but those mentioned in the text were longer,—a sort of riding-cloaks. “Tabard a garmêt mâteau.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxviii. (Table of Subst.). And see Du Cange’s Gloss. in v. Tabartum; Roquefort’s Gloss. in v. Tabar; and Strutt’s Dress and Habits, &c. ii. 301.

v. 319. Theyr styrops of myxt gold begared]—begared, or begarded, means—faced, bordered,—adorned. The line, I suspect, (see various readings ad l.) ought to stand,—

“Theyr styrops with gold begared.”

v. 321. moyles] i. e. mules.

v. 323.

What care they though Gil sweate, Or Jacke of the Noke]

So afterwards, v. 857, the same terms are used to signify the labouring poor of both sexes. Jacke of the Noke, i. e. (I suppose) Jack of the Nook: see “Nocata terræ” in Cowel’s Law Dictionary, &c. ed. 1727.

v. 325. pore] i. e. poor.

v. 331. farly] i. e. strange.

v. 332. iangle] i. e. babble, chatter.

v. 335. all to-mangle] See note, p. 100. v. 32.

Page 324. v. 337. ascrye] i. e. call out against: see notes, p. 145. v. 903. p. 152. v. 1358.

v. 341. Ware] i. e. Were. (MS. “Was:” see note ad loc.)

v. 342. Poules] i. e. Paul’s.

Page 324. v. 346. trones] i. e. thrones.

v. 347. Lyke prynces aquilonis] i. e. Like so many Lucifers.

v. 352. For prestes and for lones]—prestes, i. e. sums in advance. “Prest and loan,” Sir H. Nicolas observes to me, “seem to have been used in nearly, if not precisely, the same sense in the 16th century. Perhaps, strictly, prest meant a compulsory advance. In fiscal records it has much the meaning of charge or imprest.”

v. 356. tonge tayde] i. e. tongue-tied.

v. 360. shrewd] i. e. evil.

v. 362. poollynge] i. e. polling, plundering.

Page 325. v. 365. Ye make monkes to haue the culerage, &c.] A passage which I do not understand: but culerage perhaps has here the meaning which it conveys as the name of an herb, “Arse-smart. Cul-rage.” Cotgrave’s Dict.

v. 373. ouerthwarted] Has been explained before (p. 211. v. 230)—cavilled, wrangled: but here it seems to mean—crossly, perversely opposed or controlled.

v. 376. fayne] i. e. glad.

v. 379. corum] i. e. quorum.

v. 388. apostataas] See note, p. 212. v. 290.

Page 326. v. 391. sely nonnes] i. e. silly, simple, harmless nuns.

v. 392. ronnes] i. e. runs.

v. 396. quere] i. e. quire.

v. 397. heuy chere] “Heavy chear, Tristitia, Mœstitia.” Cole’s Dict.

v. 399. fucke sayles] So in a copy of verses attributed to Dunbar;

“The dust upskaillis, mony fillok wiih fuk saillis.”

Poems, ii. 27. ed. Laing.

and in another by Sir R. Maitland;

“Of fynest camroche thair fuk saillis.”

Anc. Scot. Poems from Maitland MSS., ii. 326. ed. Pink.

Focke, a foresail, German. In the Expenses of Sir John Howard, first Duke of Norfolk, we find, “Item, the same day my mastyr paid to the said Clayson, for a fuk maste for the said kervelle, iij_s._ iiij_d._” Manners and Household Expenses of England, &c., p. 206. ed. Roxb.

v. 401. shales] See note, p. 97. v. 19.

v. 403. The lay fee people] i. e. the laity: see note, p. 234. v. 267.

v. 404. fawte] i. e. fault.

v. 409. Boke and chalys] i. e. Book and chalice.

Page 327. v. 417. melles] i. e. meddles.

v. 418. tytyuelles] This word occurs not unfrequently, and with some variety of spelling, in our early writers. So Lydgate;

“Tytyuylles tyrauntes with tormentoures.”

Le Assemble de dyeus, sig. c i. n. d. 4to.

and Heywood;

“There is no moe such titifyls in Englandes ground, To hold with the hare, and run with the hound.”

Dialogue, &c. sig. C,—Workes, ed. 1598.

Some have considered the word as derived from the Latin, titivilitium, a thing of no worth. Jamieson “suspects that it is a personal designation,” Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v. Tutivillaris. In Juditium, Towneley Mysteries, p. 310, Tutivillus is a fiend; and in the Moral Play of Mankind he represents the sin of the flesh, Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poet., ii. 297, by Mr. J.P. Collier, who says (ii. 223) that “the name afterwards came to mean any person with evil propensities,” and refers to the comedy of Rauf Royster Doyster, Skelton’s Works, and the Enterlude of Thersytes: when he objected to the derivation of the word from titivilitium and proposed “the more simple etymology, totus and vilis,” he was probably not aware that some writers (wrongly) “totivillitium volunt, quasi totum vile:” see Gronovius’s note on the Casina of Plautus, ii. 5, 39. ed. Var.

Page 327. v. 421. Of an abbay ye make a graunge] A proverbial expression.

“Our changes are soch that an abbeye turneth to a graunge.”

Bale’s Kynge Iohan, p. 23. Camd. ed.

“To bring an Abbey to a Grange.” Ray’s Proverbs, p. 174. ed. 1768.

v. 424. beade rolles] i. e. prayers,—properly, lists of those to be prayed for.

v. 429.

But where theyr soules dwell, Therwith I wyll not mell]

—mell, i. e. meddle. So Dunbar;

“Now with thair sawle we will nocht mell.”

Poems, ii. 52. ed. Laing.

v. 434. reporte me] i. e. refer.

v. 440. the lay fee] i. e. the laity: see note, p. 234. v. 267.

Page 328. v. 447.

splendore Fulgurantis hastæ]

From the Vulgate. “Ibunt in splendore fulgurantis hastæ tuæ.” Habac. iii. 11. “Et micantis gladii, et fulgurantis hastæ.” Nahum, iii. 3.

v. 456. eysell] i. e. vinegar.

v. 458. ypocras] Was a favourite medicated drink, composed of wine (usually red), with spices and sugar. It is generally supposed to have been so named from Hippocrates (often contracted, as in our author’s Garlande of Laurell, v. 1426. vol. i. 417, to “Ipocras”); perhaps because it was strained,—the woollen bag used by apothecaries to strain syrups and decoctions for clarification being termed Hippocrates’s sleeve.

Page 328. v. 459. Let the cat wynke] See note, p. 168. v. 305.

v. 460. Iche wot] Seems to mean here—Each knows (not, I know); and therefore in the remainder of the line the reading of Kele’s ed., “yche,” ought not to have been rejected.

v. 467. theologys] i. e. theologians.

v. 468. astrologys] i. e. astrologers.

Page 329. v. 469. Ptholome] See note, p. 133. v. 503.

v. 474. pretendynge] Equivalent to—portending.

“What misfortune, aduersitie, or blame, Can all the planets to man or childe pretende, If God most glorious by his might vs defende?”

Barclay’s Ship of Fooles, fol. 129. ed. 1570.

Here Skelton seems to allude to Wolsey; and from these lines (called in the Lansdown MS., see note ad loc., “The profecy of Skelton”) perhaps originated the story of our poet having prophesied the downfal of the Cardinal.

v. 476. trone] i. e. throne.

v. 479. euerychone] i. e. every one.

Page 330. v. 489. bruted] i. e. reported, talked of.

v. 492. wrest vp] i. e. screw up: see note, p. 238. v. 137.

v. 493. twynkyng] i. e. tinking, tinkling.

v. 498. the lay fee] i. e. the laity: see note, p. 234. v. 267.

v. 504. to] i. e. too.

v. 515. depraue] i. e. vilify, defame.

Page 331. v. 523. resydeuacyon] i. e. recidivation, backsliding.

v. 528. ipostacis] i. e. hypostasis.

v. 533. fore top] i. e. (as the context shews) simply,—head, pate.

v. 535. knowe and ken] A pleonasm,—unless ken be explained—see.

v. 542.

And some haue a smacke Of Luthers sacke]

Concerning the wine called sack (about which so much has been written) see Henderson’s Hist. of Anc. and Mod. Wines, p. 298.

v. 544. brennyng] i. e. burning.

v. 545. warke] i. e. work.

Page 332. v. 549. carpe] i. e. talk, prate.

v. 551. Called Wicleuista] From Wicliffe.

v. 553. Hussyans] i. e. followers of Huss.

v. 554. Arryans] i. e. followers of Arius.

v. 555. Pollegians] i. e. Pelagians,—followers of Pelagius.

v. 559. to mykel] i. e. too much.

Page 332. v. 564. tryalytes] i. e. three benefices united.

v. 565. tot quottes] So Barclay;

“Then yf this lorde haue in him fauour, he hath hope To haue another benefyce of greater dignitie, And so maketh a false suggestion to the pope For a tot quot, or els a pluralitie.”

Ship of Fooles, fol. 60. ed. 1570.

Page 333. v. 572. persons and vycaryes] i. e. parsons and vicars.

v. 576. loselles] See note, p. 209. v. 138.

v. 577. lewdely] i. e. wickedly, vilely.

v. 578. sely] i. e. silly, simple, harmless.

v. 581. mought] i. e. might.

v. 582. so dysgysed] See note, p. 205. v. 22.

Page 334. v. 597. lokes] i. e. looks.

v. 598. bokes] i. e. books.

v. 600. wroken] i. e. wreaked.

v. 602. iauell] See note, p. 271. v. 2218.

v. 604. face] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

—— crake] i. e. vaunt, talk bigly.

v. 606. kayser] See note, p. 247. v. 796.

v. 607. layser] i. e. leisure.

v. 619. connyng] i. e. knowledge, learning.

—— auaunce] i. e. advance.

Page 335. v. 624. dykes] i. e. ditches.

“Where the blinde leadeth the blinde, both fall in the dyke.”

Heywood’s Dialogue, &c.—Workes, ed. 1598, sig. G 2.

v. 625. Set nothyng by] i. e. Value not, regard not.

v. 637. ye, shall] i. e. yea, I shall.

v. 648. shule] i. e. shovel.

Page 336. v. 654. mamockes] See note, p. 268. v. 2035.

v. 663. kynde] i. e. nature.

v. 664. Many one ye haue vntwynde] The reading of the MS., which at least gives a sense to the line: vntwynde, i. e. destroyed; see note, p. 127. v. 284.

v. 668. fote] i. e. foot.

v. 672. in the deuyll way] A common expression in our early writers.

“Our Hoste answerd: Tell on a devil way.”

Chaucer’s Milleres Prol., v. 3136. ed. Tyr.

“In the twenty deuyll way, Au nom du grant diable.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxlii. (Table of Aduerbes). “What reason is that, in the twenty deuell waye, that he shulde bere suche a rule? Quænam (malum) ratio est,” &c. Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. dd iii. ed. 1530.

Page 337. v. 673. ouer] i. e. besides.

v. 675. hear] i. e. hair.

v. 679. tonsors] i. e. tonsures.

v. 688. the male dothe wrye] See note, p. 142. v. 700.

Page 338. v. 692. Ye bysshops of estates]—of estates, i. e. of great estate, rank, dignity.

v. 698. awtentyke] i. e. authentic.

v. 704. intoxicate] i. e. poison (Lat. intoxico).

v. 705. conquinate] i. e. coinquinate,—pollute, defile, defame.

v. 710. The Churchis hygh estates] i. e. the dignitaries of the Church.

Page 339. v. 728. marke] i. e. marks,—the coins so called.

v. 730. werke] i. e. work.

v. 734. sawe] i. e. saying,—branch of learning.

v. 737. pore] i. e. poor.

v. 739. frere] i. e. friar.

Page 340. v. 747.

of the order Vpon Grenewyche border, Called Obseruaunce]

The statement that Edward the Third founded a religious house at Greenwich in 1376 appears to rest on no authority. A grant of Edward the Fourth to certain Minorites or Observant Friars of the order of St. Francis of a piece of ground which adjoined the palace at Greenwich, and on which they had begun to build several small mansions, was confirmed in 1486 by a charter of Henry the Seventh, who founded there a convent of friars of that order, to consist of a warden and twelve brethren at the least; and who is said to have afterwards rebuilt their convent from the foundation. The friars of Greenwich were much favoured by Katherine, queen of Henry the Eighth; and when, during the question of her divorce, they had openly espoused her cause, the king was so greatly enraged that he suppressed the whole order throughout England. The convent at Greenwich was dissolved in 1534. Queen Mary reinstated them in their possessions, and new-founded and repaired their monastery. Queen Elizabeth suppressed them, &c. See Lysons’s Environs of London, iv. 464. ed. 1796.

v. 754. Babuell besyde Bery] When by an order of Pope Urban the Fourth, the Grey Friars were removed out of the town and jurisdiction of Bury St. Edmund, in 1263, “they retired to a place just without the bounds, beyond the north gate, called Babwell, now the Toll-gate, which the abbat and convent generously gave them to build on; and here they continued till the dissolution.” Tanner’s Not. Mon. p. 527. ed. 1744.

Page 340. v. 755. To postell vpon a kyry] i. e. to comment upon a Kyrie eleison: (a postil is a short gloss, or note).

v. 757. coted] i. e. quoted.

Page 341. v. 779. blother] i. e. gabble.

v. 780.

make a Walshmans hose Of the texte and of the glose]

So again our author in his Garlande of Laurell;

“And after conueyauns as the world goos, It is no foly to vse the Walshemannys hose.”

v. 1238. vol. i. 411.

Compare The Legend of the Bischop of St Androis;

“Of omnigatherene now his glose, He maid it lyk a Wealchman hose.”

Scot. Poems of the Sixteenth Century, (by Dalyell), p. 332.

“WELCHMAN’S HOSE. Equivalent, I imagine, to the breeches of a Highlander, or the dress of a naked Pict; upon the presumption that Welchmen had no hose.” Nares’s Gloss. in v. Unfortunately, however, for this ingenious conjecture, the expression is found varied to “shipman’s hose,”—which certainly cannot be considered as a non-entity. “Hereunto they adde also a Similitude not very agreeable, how the Scriptures be like to a Nose of Waxe, or a Shipmans Hose: how thei may be fashioned, and plied al manner of waies, and serue al mennes turnes.” Jewel’s Defence of the Apologie, &c. p. 465. ed. 1567. “And not made as a shippe mans hose to serue for euery legge.” Wilson’s Arte of Rhetorike, p. 102. ed. 1580. Surely Welshman’s hose (as well as shipman’s) became proverbial from their pliability, power of being stretched, &c.

v. 784. broke] i. e. brook.

v. 785. loke] i. e. look.

v. 786. boke] i. e. book.

Page 342. v. 800. the brode gatus] Means perhaps, Broadgates Hall, Oxford, on the site of which Pembroke College was erected.

v. 801. Daupatus] i. e. Simple-pate: see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 803. Dronhen as a mouse] So Chaucer;

“We faren as he that dronke is as a mous.”

The Knightes Tale, v. 1263. ed. Tyr.

v. 805. his pyllyon and his cap]—pyllyon, from Lat. pileus. Compare Barclay;

“Mercury shall geue thee giftes manyfolde, His pillion, scepter, his winges, and his harpe.”

Fourth Egloge, sig. C iiii. ed. 1570.

and Cavendish’s Life of Wolsey; “and upon his head a round pillion, with a noble of black velvet set to the same in the inner side” [where surely we ought to read, “and upon his head a round pillion of black velvet, with a noble set to the same in the inner side”]. p. 105. ed. 1827.

Page 342. v. 811. As wyse as Waltoms calfe] So Heywood;

“And thinke me as wise as Waltams calfe, to talke,” &c.

Dialogue, &c. sig. F 3,—Workes, ed. 1598.

Ray gives, “As wise as Waltham’s calf, that ran nine miles to suck a bull.” Proverbs, p. 220. ed. 1768.

v. 812. a Goddes halfe] See note, p. 174. v. 501.

v. 817. scole matter] i. e. school-matter.

Page 343. v. 820. elenkes] i. e. elenchs (elenchus—in logic).

v. 822. mell] i. e. meddle.

v. 826. neuen] i. e. name.

v. 831. mo] i. e. more.

v. 836. Lymyters] i. e. Friars licensed to beg within certain districts.

v. 840. Flatterynge, &c.] Compare Barclay;

“We geue wooll and cheese, our wiues coyne and egges, When freers flatter and prayse their proper legges.”

Fifth Egloge, sig. D v. ed. 1570.

v. 843. lese] i. e. lose.

Page 344. v. 846. bacon flycke] i. e. flitch of bacon.

v. 849. couent] i. e. convent.

v. 852. theyr tonges fyle]—fyle, i. e. smooth, polish: the expression occurs in earlier and in much later writers.

v. 854.

To Margery and to Maude, Howe they haue no fraude]

As we find the name “Mawte” in our author’s Elynour Rummyng, v. 159. vol. i. 100, and as in the second of these lines the MS. (see note ad l.) has “fawte” (i. e. fault), the right reading is probably,

“To Margery and to Mawte, Howe they haue no fawte.”

v. 856. prouoke] i. e. incite.

v. 857. Gyll and Jacke at Noke] See note on v. 323. p. 283.

v. 861. In open tyme] i. e. In the time when no fasts are imposed.

v. 864. an olde sayd sawe] “Oulde sayd sawe prouerbe.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. li. (Table of Subst.).

Page 344. v. 866. Some walke aboute in melottes] “Circuierunt in melotis.” Vulgate,—Heb. xi. 37. “Melotes,” as Mr. Albert Way observes to me, “is explained in the Catholicon to be a garment used by the monks during laborious occupation, made of the skin of the badger, and reaching from the neck to the loins,” and according to other early dictionaries, it was made of the hair or skin of other animals. So the original Greek word, μηλωτή, which properly means pellis ovina, signifies also pellis quævis.

v. 867. heery] i. e. hairy.

v. 868. ne] i. e. nor.

v. 869. in remotes] i. e. in retired places.

Page 345. v. 874.

And by Dudum, theyr Clementine, Agaynst curates they repyne; And say propreli they ar sacerdotes, To shryue, assoyle, and reles Dame Margeries soule out of hell]

—shryue, assoyle, i. e. confess, absolve.—“On a de Clément V une compilation nouvelle, tant des décrets du concile général de Vienne, que de ses épîtres ou constitutions. C’est ce qu’on appelle les Clémentines.” L’Art de vérifier les Dates, &c. (depuis la naissance de Notre-seigneur), iii. 382. ed. 1818. Skelton alludes here to Clement. lib. iii. tit. vii. cap. ii. which begins, “Dvdum à Bonifacio Papa octauo prædecessore nostro,” &c., and contains the following passages. “Ab olim siquidem inter Prælatos & Rectores, seu Sacerdotes ac Clericos parochialium Ecclesiarum per diuersas Mundi prouincias constitutos ex vna parte, & Prædicatorum & Minorum ordinum fratres ex altera (pacis æmulo, satore zizaniæ procurante), grauis & periculosa discordia extitit, suscitata super prædicationib. fidelium populis faciendis, eorum confessionibus audiendis, pœnitentiis iniungendis eisdem, & tumulandis defunctorum corporibus, qui apud fratrum ipsorum Ecclesias siue loca noscuntur eligere sepulturam.... Statuimus etiam & ordinamus auctoritate prædicta, vt in singulis ciuitatibus & diœcesibus, in quibus loca fratrum ipsorum consistere dignoscuntur, vel in ciuitatibus & diœcesibus locis ipsis vicinis, in quibus loca huiusmodi non habentur, Magistri, Priores prouinciales Prædicatorum, aut eorum Vicarij & Generales, et Prouinciales Ministri & custodes Minorum & ordinum prædictorum ad præsentiam Prælatorum eorundem locorum se conferant per se, vel per fratres, quos ad hoc idoneos fore putauerint, humiliter petituri, vt fratres, qui ad hoc electi fuerint, in eorum ciuitatibus & diœcesibus confessiones subditorum suorum confiteri sibi volentium audire liberè valeant, & huiusmodi confitentibus (prout secundùm Deum expedire cognouerint) pœnitentias imponere salutares, atque eisdem absolutionis beneficium impendere de licentia, gratia, & beneplacito eorundem: Ac deinde præfati Magistri, Priores, Prouinciales, & Ministri ordinum prædictorum eligere studeant personas sufficientes, idoneas, vita probatas, discretas, modestas, atque peritas, ad tam salubre ministerium et officium exequendum: quas sic ab ipsis electas repræsentent, vel faciant præsentari Prælatis, vt de eorum licentia, gratia, & beneplacito in ciuitatib. & dioecesibus eorundem huiusmodi personæ sic electæ confessiones confiteri sibi volentium audiant, imponant pœnitentias salutares, & beneficium absolutionis (in posterum) impendant, prout superiùs est expressum: extra ciuitates & diœceses, in quibus fuerint deputatæ, per quas eas volumus & non per prouincias deputari, confessiones nullatenus audituræ. Numerus autem personarum assumendarum ad huiusmodi officium exercendum esse debet, prout vniuersitas cleri & populi, ac multitudo vel paucitas exigit eorundem. Et si iidem Prælati petitam licentiam confessionum huiusmodi audiendarum concesserint: illam præfati Magistri, Ministri, & alij cum gratiarum recipiant actione, dictæque personæ sic electæ commissum sibi officium exequantur. Quòd si fortè iam dicti Prælati quenquam ex dictis fratribus præsentatis eisdem ad huiusmodi officium nollent habere, vel non ducerent admittendum: eo amoto, vel subtracto loco ipsius similiter eisdem præsentandus Prælatis possit, & debeat alius surrogari. Si verò iidem Prælati præfatis fratribus ad confessiones (vt præmittitur) audiendas electis, huiusmodi exhibere licentiam recusârint, nos ex nunc ipsis, vt confessiones sibi confiteri volentium liberè licitèque audire valeant, & eisdem pœnitentias imponere salutares, atque eisdem beneficium absolutionis impertiri, gratiosè concedimus de plenitudine Apostolicæ potestatis. Per huiusmodi autem concessionem nequaquam intendimus personis, seu fratribus ipsis ad id taliter deputatis, potestatem in hoc impendere ampliorem quàm in eo curatis vel parochialibus Sacerdotib. est à iure concessa: nisi forsan eis Ecclesiarum Prælati vberiorem in hac parte gratiam specialiter ducerent faciendam.” Pp. 184-190. (Decret. tom. iii. ed. 1600.)

Page 345. v. 879.

But when the freare fell in the well, He coud not syng himselfe therout But by the helpe of Christyan Clout]

The name “Cristian Clowte” has occurred before in our author’s Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale, vol. i. 28. The story alluded to in this passage appears to be nearly the same as that which is related in a comparatively modern ballad, entitled,

“_The Fryer Well-fitted: or, A Pretty Jest that once befel, How a Maid put a Fryer to cool in the Well. To a merry new Tune. Licens’d and Enter’d according to Order._”

The Friar wishes to seduce the Maid;

“But she denyed his Desire, And told him, that she feared Hell-fire; fa, la, &c. Tush, (quoth the Fryer) thou needst not doubt, fa, la, &c. If thou wert in Hell, I could sing thee out; fa, la, &c.”

The Maid then tells him that he “shall have his request,” but only on condition that he brings her “an angel of money.” While he is absent, “She hung a Cloth before the Well;” and, when he has returned, and given her the angel,—

“Oh stay, (quoth she) some Respite make, My Father comes, he will me take; fa, la, &c. Alas, (quoth the Fryer) where shall I run, fa, la, &c. To hide me till that he be gone? fa, la, &c. Behind the Cloth run thou (quoth she), And there my Father cannot thee see; fa, la, &c. Behind the Cloth the Fryer crept, fa, la, &c. And into the Well on sudden he leapt, fa, la, &c. Alas, (quoth he) I am in the Well; No matter, (quoth she) if thou wert in Hell; fa, la, &c. Thou say’st thou could’st sing me out of Hell, fa, la, &c. Now prithee sing thyself out of the Well, fa, la, &c.”

The Maid at last helps him out, and bids him be gone; but when he asks her to give him back the angel,—

“Good Sir, (said she) there’s no such matter, I’ll make you pay for fouling my Water; fa, la, &c. The Fryer went along the Street, fa, la, &c. Drapping wet, like a new-wash’d Sheep, fa, la, &c. Both Old and Young commended the Maid, That such a witty Prank had plaid; fa, la, la, la, la, fa, la, la, lang-tree down-dily.”

Ballads, Brit. Mus. 643. m.

Page 345. v. 882.

Another Clementyne also, How frere Fabian, with other mo, Exivit de Paradiso]

—mo, i. e. more. Some corruption, if not considerable mutilation of the text, may be suspected here. There seems to be an allusion to Clement, lib. v. tit. xi. cap. i., which begins, “Exiui de paradiso, dixi, rigabo hortum plantationum, ait ille cœlestis agricola,” &c. P. 313. (Decret. tom. iii. ed. 1600).

v. 892. abiections] i. e. objections.

Page 346. v. 901. hertes] i. e. hearts.

v. 903. coueytous] i. e. covetise, covetousness.

v. 906. play scylens and glum, &c.] See note on v. 83. p. 278.

v. 911. leuer] i. e. more willingly, rather.

v. 914. Worsshepfully] i. e. According to their honour, or dignity.

Page 347. v. 922. payntes] See note, p. 176. v. 583.

v. 924. them lyke] i. e. please them.

v. 931. crosse] See note, p. 116. v. 363.

v. 932. predyall landes] i. e. farm-lands.

v. 943. palles] See note on v. 312. p. 283.

v. 944. Arras] i. e. tapestry: see note, p. 192. v. 78.

v. 947. lusty] i. e. pleasant, desirable,—beautiful.

Page 348. v. 950. shote] i. e. shoot.

v. 951. tyrly tyrlowe] This passage was strangely misunderstood by the late Mr. Douce, who thought that “tyrly tyrlowe” alluded to the note of the crow, that bird being mentioned in the preceding line! Illust. of Shakespeare, i. 353. The expression has occurred before, in our author’s Elynour Rummyng, v. 292. vol. i. 104: here it is equivalent to the modern fa, la, la, which is often used with a sly or wanton allusion,—as, for instance, at the end of each stanza of Pope’s court-ballad, The Challenge.

Page 348. v. 953. a lege de moy] See note, p. 176. v. 587.

v. 956. With suche storyes bydene]—bydene, that is “by the dozen,” says Warton, erroneously, quoting this passage, Hist. of E. P., ii. 343. ed. 4to (note). The word occurs frequently in our early poetry, with different significations: here it may be explained—together—(with a collection of such stories); so in The Worlde and the Chylde, 1522;

“Now cryst ... ... Saue all this company that is gathered here bydene.”

Sig. C iiii.

v. 957. Their chambres well besene]—well besene, i. e. of a good appearance,—well-furnished, or adorned: see note, p. 112. v. 283.

v. 962. Nowe all the worlde stares, &c.] “This is still,” as Warton observes (Hist. of E. P., ii. 343. ed. 4to, note), “a description of tapestry.”

v. 963. chares] i. e. chariots.

v. 964. olyphantes] i. e. elephants.

v. 965, garlantes] i. e. garlands.

v. 974. estate] i. e. high rank, dignity.

v. 975. courage] i. e. heart, affections.

v. 977.

Theyr chambres thus to dresse With suche parfetnesse]

—parfetnesse, i. e. perfectness. “We should observe,” says Warton, after citing the passage, “that the satire is here pointed at the subject of these tapestries. The graver ecclesiastics, who did not follow the levities of the world, were contented with religious subjects, or such as were merely historical.” Hist. of E. P., ii. 344. ed. 4to.

Page 349. v. 983. remorde] See note, p. 193. v. 101.

v. 987. mellyng] i. e. meddling.

v. 990. besy] i. e. busy.

v. 991. For one man to rule a kyng] An allusion, I apprehend, to Wolsey’s influence over Henry the Eighth: so again our author speaking of Wolsey, in the Latin lines at the end of Why Come ye nat to Courte, “Qui regnum regemque regit.” Vol. ii. 67. I may observe too in further confirmation of the reading “kyng” instead of “gyng” (see note ad loc.), that we have had in an earlier passage of the present poem,

“To rule bothe kyng and kayser.”

v. 606.

v. 996. flyt] i. e. remove.

v. 998. quysshon] i. e. cushion.

v. 1000. Cum regibus amicare] “Amico, to be frend.” Medulla Gramatice, MS. (now in the possession of Mr. Rodd).

Page 349. v. 1002. pravare] In Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de. Worde, n. d., is “Prauo ... prauum facere. or to shrewe,” and “Tirannus. shrewe or tyrande.” The meaning therefore of pravare in our text may be—to play the tyrant.

Page 350. v. 1003. vre] “Evr happe or lucke with his compoundes bonevr and malevr,” &c. Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. vi. (Thirde Boke).

“My goddesse bright, my fortune, and my vre.”

Chaucer’s Court of Loue, fol. 330,—Workes, ed. 1602.

“The grace and ewer and hap of olde fortune.”

Lydgate’s Warres of Troy, B. iv. sig. Z v. cd. 1555.

“But wayte his death & his fatall eure.”

Id. sig. A a i.

“And fortune which hath the such vre y sent.”

Poems by C. Duke of Orleans,—MS. Harl. 682, fol. 24.

v. 1014. played so checkemate] In allusion to the king’s being put in check at the game of chess.

v. 1017. mell] i. e. meddle.

v. 1019. kayser] See note, p. 247. v. 796.

v. 1020. at the playsure of one, &c.] Meaning, surely, Wolsey.

v. 1025. not so hardy on his hede] An elliptical expression; compare v. 1154. In the Morte d’Arthur when Bors is on the point of slaying King Arthur, “Not soo hardy sayd syr launcelot vpon payn of thy hede, &c.” B. xx. c. xiii. vol. ii. 411. ed. Southey.

v. 1026. To loke on God in forme of brede]—loke, i. e. look: brede, i. e. bread. A not unfrequent expression in our early writers.

“Whan I sacred our lordes body Chryste Jesu in fourme of brede.”

The Lyfe of saint Gregoryes mother, n. d. sig. A v.

See too Ritson’s An. Pop. Poetry, p. 84; and Hartshorne’s An. Met. Tales, p. 134.

Page 351. v. 1030. sacryng] “Sacryng of the masse sacrement.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lx. (Table of Subst.). And see Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. in v.

v. 1041. preas] i. e. press.

v. 1047. ne] i. e. nor.

v. 1050. warke] i. e. work, business.

Page 352. v. 1051. this] Perhaps for—thus; see note, p. 86. v. 38.

v. 1054. vncouthes] i. e. strange matters.

v. 1055. ken] i. e. know.

v. 1070. premenire] i. e. præmunire.

v. 1074. fotyng] i. e. footing.

Page 352. v. 1075. motyng] i. e. mooting. “Certamen ... anglice flytynge chydynge or motynge.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d.

v. 1076. totyng] i. e. prying, peeping.

Page 353. v. 1084. hole route] i. e. whole crowd, set.

v. 1098. escrye] i. e. call out against: see notes, p. 145. v. 903. p. 152. v. 1358. p. 283. v. 337.

v. 1102. werke] i. e. work.

Page 354. v. 1106. hynderyng] See note, p. 245. v. 719.

—— dysauaylyng] “I Disauayle one, I hynder his auauntage, Ie luy porte dom̄aige.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccxii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 1116. to be gramed] i. e. to be angered: gramed is doubtless the right reading here, though the eds. have “greued” and the MS. “grevyd”—(grame has already occurred in Magnyfycence, v. 1864).

Page 355. v. 1134. depraue] i. e. vilify, defame.

v. 1154. Not so hardy on theyr pates] See note on v. 1025, preceding page.

v. 1155. losell] See note, p. 209. v. 138.

v. 1156. wesaunt] i. e. weasand.

v. 1157. syr Guy of Gaunt] See note, p. 184. v. 70.

v. 1158. lewde] i. e. wicked, vile.

Page 356. v. 1159. doctour Deuyas] See note, p. 95. v. 55.

v. 1162. dawcocke] i. e. simpleton: see note, p. 113. v. 301.

—— mell] i. e. meddle.

v. 1164. Allygate] i. e. Allege.

v. 1170. lurdeyne] See note, p. 242. v. 423.

v. 1171. Lytell Ease] “Little Ease (prison), mala mansio, arcæ robustæ.” Coles’s Dict.—“LITTLE-EASE. A familiar term for a pillory, or stocks; or an engine uniting both purposes, the bilboes.” Nares’s Gloss.

v. 1178. rechelesse] i. e. reckless.

Page 357. v. 1184. Poules Crosse] i. e. Paul’s Cross.

v. 1186. Saynt Mary Spyttell] In Bishopsgate Ward: see Stow’s Survey, B. ii. 97. ed. 1720.

v. 1187. set not by vs a whystell] i. e. value us not at a whistle, care not a whistle for us. Compare Lydgate;

“For he set not by his wrethe a whistel.”

The prohemy of a mariage, &c.,—MS. Harl. 372. fol. 45.

v. 1188. the Austen fryers] In Broad-street Ward: see Stow’s Survey, B. ii. 114, ed. 1720.

Page 357. v. 1190. Saynt Thomas of Akers] Concerning the “Hospital intituled of S. Thomas of Acon or Acars [Acre in the Holy Land], near to the great Conduit in Cheape,” see Stow’s Survey, B. iii. 37. ed. 1720, and Maitland’s Hist. of London, ii. 886. ed. 1756.

v. 1191. carpe vs] Is explained by the various reading of the MS.,—“clacke of us.”

—— crakers] i. e., as the context shews, (not—vaunters, but) noisy talkers.

v. 1193. reason or skyll] See note, p. 238. v. 106.

v. 1196. at a pronge] See note, p. 243. v. 506.

v. 1199. fonge] i. e. take, get.

v. 1201. the ryght of a rambes horne] An expression which our author has again in Speke, Parrot, v. 498. vol. ii. 24. So in a metrical fragment, temp. Edward ii.;

“As ryt as ramis orn.”

Reliquiæ Antiquæ (by Wright and Halliwell), ii. 19.

And Lydgate has a copy of verses, the burden of which is,—

“Conveyede by lyne ryght as a rammes horne.”

MS. Harl. 172. fol. 71.

See too Ray’s Proverbs, p. 225. ed. 1768.

v. 1206. yawde] i. e. hewed, cut down. “To Yaw, to hew.” Gloss. appended to A Dialogue in the Devonshire Dialect, 1837.

Page 358. v. 1208. Ezechyas] Ought to be “Isaias;” for, according to a Jewish tradition, Isaiah was cut in two with a wooden saw by order of King Manasseh.

v. 1216. agayne] i. e. against.

v. 1223. cough, rough, or sneuyll]—rough, i. e., perhaps, rout, snore, snort. I may just observe that Palsgrave not only gives “rowte” in that sense, but also “I Rowte I belche as one dothe that voydeth wynde out of his stomacke, Ie roucte.” Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccxliiii. (Table of Verbes); and that Coles has “To rout, Crepo, pedo.” Dict.

v. 1224. Renne] i. e. Run.

v. 1227. set not a nut shell] i. e. value not at a nut-shell, care not a nut-shell for.

v. 1229. gyse] i. e. guise, fashion.

Page 359. v. 1232. sayd sayne] A sort of pleonastic expression,—equivalent to—called commonly or proverbially: see note on v. 864. p. 290.

v. 1235. domis day] i. e. doomsday.

Page 359. v. 1239. boke] i. e. book.

v. 1240. By hoke ne by croke] i. e. By hook nor by crook.

v. 1244. nolles] i. e. heads.

v. 1245. noddy polles] i. e. silly heads.

v. 1246. sely] i. e. silly.

v. 1248. great estates] i. e. persons of great estate, or rank.

v. 1255. wawes wod] i. e. waves mad, raging.

v. 1257. Shote] i. e. Shoot, cast.

v. 1258. farre] i. e. farther:

“I wyl no farr mell.”

Gentylnes and Nobylyte, n. d. (attributed without grounds to Heywood), sig. C ii.

Page 360. v. 1262. the porte salu] i. e. the safe port. Skelton has the term again in his Garlande of Laurell, v. 541. vol. i. 383. Compare Hoccleve;

“whether our taill Shall soone make us with our shippes saill To port salu.”

Poems, p. 61. ed. 1796,—

where the editor observes, “Port salut was a kind of proverbial expression, and so used in the translation of Cicero de senectute printed by Caxton.”

A RYGHT DELECTABLE TRATYSE VPON A GOODLY GARLANDE OR CHAPELET OF LAURELL ... STUDYOUSLY DYUYSED AT SHERYFHOTTON CASTELL, IN THE FORESTE OF GALTRES, &c.

Sheriff-Hutton Castle “is situated in the Wapentake of Bulmer, and is distant ten miles north-east from York ... The slender accounts of it that have reached our times, ascribe its origin to Bertram de Bulmer, an English Baron, who is recorded by Camden to have built it in the reign of King Stephen, A.D. 1140 ... From the Bulmers it descended by marriage to the noble family of the Nevilles, and continued in their possession upwards of 300 years, through a regular series of reigns, until seized by Edward iv. in 1471, who soon after gave the Castle and Manor to his brother the Duke of Gloucester, afterwards Richard iii. In 1485, in consequence of the death of Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field, it became the property of King Henry vii., and continued in the hands of the Crown, until James the First granted it to his son, Prince Charles, about 1616. The Castle and Manor were subsequently granted (also by King James, according to Camden, and the original grant confirmed by Prince Charles after he ascended the throne) to the family of the Ingrams, about 1624-5, and are now in possession of their lineal descendant, the present Marchioness of Hertford.” Some Account of Sheriff-Hutton Castle, &c. pp. 3-5, York, 1824.

Leland (who says, erroneously it would seem, that Sheriff-Hutton Castle “was buildid by Rafe Nevill of Raby the fyrst Erl of Westmerland of the Nevilles,”) gives the following description of it. “There is a Base Court with Houses of Office afore the Entering of the Castelle. The Castelle self in the Front is not dichid, but it stondith in loco utcunque edito. I markid yn the fore Front of the first Area of the Castelle self 3. great and high Toures, of the which the Gate House was the Midle. In the secunde Area ther be a 5. or 6. Toures, and the stately Staire up to the Haul is very Magnificent, and so is the Haul it self, and al the residew of the House: in so much that I saw no House in the North so like a Princely Logginges. I lernid ther that the Stone that the Castel was buildid with was fetchid from a Quarre at Terington a 2. Miles of. There is a Park by the Castel. This Castel was wel maintainid, by reason that the late Duke of Northfolk lay ther x. Yers, and sins the Duk of Richemond. From Shirhuten to York vij. Miles, and in the Forest of Galtres, wherof 4. Miles or more was low Medowes and Morisch Ground ful of Carres, the Residew by better Ground but not very high.” Itin. i. 67. ed. 1770.

“Report asserts, that during the civil wars in the time of Charles the First, it [the Castle] was dismantled, and the greater part of its walls taken down, by order of the Parliament. But this is certainly not the fact, as will be seen by reference to the ‘Royal Survey’ made in 1624 ... From this Survey it will appear evident, that the Castle was dismantled and almost in total ruin in the time of James I.,—how long it had been so, previous to the Survey alluded to, is now difficult to say. From the present appearance of the ruins, it is plain that the Castle was purposely demolished and taken down by workmen, (probably under an order from the Crown, in whatever reign it might happen,) and not destroyed by violence of war. However, since this devastation by human hands, the yet more powerful and corroding hand of Time has still further contributed to its destruction.... The Castle stands upon a rising bank or eminence in front of the village, and its ruins may be seen on every side at a great distance.” Some Account, &c. (already cited), pp. 5, 6. The vast forest of Galtres formerly extended nearly all round Sheriff-Hutton.

When Skelton wrote the present poem, Sheriff-Hutton Castle was in possession of the Duke of Norfolk, to whom it had been granted by the crown for life: see note on v. 769.

Page 361. v. 1. Arectyng] i. e. Raising.

Page 361. v. 6. plenarly] i. e. fully—at full.

v. 9. somer flower] i. e. summer-flower.

v. 10. halfe] i. e. side, part.

Page 362. v. 15. dumpe] “I Dumpe I fall in a dumpe or musyng vpon thynges.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccxxii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 16. Encraumpysshed] i. e. encramped. Skelton’s fondness for compounds of this kind has been already noticed. The simple word occurs in other writers:

“Crampisheth her limmes crokedly.”

Chaucer’s Annel. and Ar.,—Workes, fol. 244. ed. 1602.

“As marbyll colde her lymmes craumpishing.”

Lydgate’s Warres of Troy, B. iv. sig. X v. ed. 1555.

—— conceyte] i. e. conceit, conception.

v. 20. boystors] i. e. boisterous.

v. 22.

Thus stode I in the frytthy forest of Galtres, Ensowkid with sylt of the myry mose]

—stode, i. e. stood: frytthy, i. e. woody: ensowkid, i. e. ensoaked: sylt, i. e. mud: mose, i. e. moss. The forest of Galtres (which, as already noticed, extended nearly all round Sheriff-Hutton) was, when Camden wrote, “in some places shaded with trees, in others swampy.” Britannia (by Gough), iii. 20.

v. 24. hartis belluyng] In the Book of Saint Albans, Juliana Berners, treating “Of the cryenge of thyse bestys,” says,

“An harte belowyth and a bucke groynyth I fynde.”

Sig. d ii.

—— embosyd] “When he [the hart] is foamy at the mouth, we say that he is embost.” Turbervile’s Noble Art of Venerie, p. 244. ed. 1611.

v. 26. the hynde calfe] “Ceruula. a hynde calfe.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d. In the Book of Saint Albans we are told;

“And for to speke of the harte yf ye woll it lere: Ye shall hym a Calfe call at the fyrste yere.”

Sig. C vi.

v. 27. forster] i. e. forester.

—— bate] Does it mean—set on, or train?

v. 28. torne] i. e. turn.

v. 32. superflue] i. e. superfluous.

“Ye blabbering fooles superflue of language.”

Barclay’s Ship of Fooles, fol. 38. ed. 1570.

v. 35. wele] i. e. well.

Page 363. v. 38. disgysede] i. e. decked out in an unusual manner.

“Of his straunge aray merueyled I sore ... Me thought he was gayly dysgysed at that fest.”

Lydgate’s Assemble de dyeus, sig. b ii. n. d. 4to.

Page 363. v. 39. fresshe] “Fresshe, gorgyouse, gay.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxxxviii. (Table of Adiect.),—which I ought to have cited earlier for the meaning of this word.

v. 40. Enhachyde with perle, &c.] i. e. Inlaid, adorned with pearl, &c. Our author in his Phyllyp Sparowe tells us that a lady had a wart (or as he also calls it, a scar) “enhached on her fayre skyn,” v. 1078. vol. i. 84. Gifford observes that “literally, to hatch is to inlay [originally, I believe, to cut, engrave, mark with lines]; metaphorically, it is to adorn, to beautify, with silver, gold, &c.” Note on Shirley’s Works, ii. 301. “The ladies apparell was after the fashion of Inde, with kerchifes of pleasance, hatched with fine gold.” Holinshed’s Chron. (Hen. viii.) vol. iii. 849. ed. 1587. “Hatching, is to Silver or gild the Hilt and Pomell of a Sword or Hanger.” R. Holme’s Ac. of Armory, 1688. B. iii. p. 91.

v. 41. The grounde engrosyd and bet with bourne golde]—grounde, i. e. (not floor, but) ground-work; as in Lydgate’s verses entitled For the better abyde;

“I see a rybaun ryche and newe ... The grownde was alle of brent golde bryght.”

MS. Cott. Calig. A ii. fol. 65.

engrosyd, i. e. thickened, enriched: bet has here the same meaning as in Le Bone Florence of Rome;

“Hur clothys wyth bestes and byrdes wer bete.”

Met. Rom. iii. 9. ed. Ritson,

who somewhat copiously explains it “beaten, plaited, inlay’d, embroider’d:” bourne, i. e. burnished.

v. 44. abylyment] i. e. habiliment.

v. 45. estates] i. e. persons of estate or rank.

v. 49. supplyed] i. e. supplicated.

v. 50. pusant] i. e. puissant, powerful, mighty.

v. 52. of very congruence] i. e. of very fitness.

“Such ought of duetie and very congruence,” &c.

Barclay’s Ship of Fooles, fol. 188. ed. 1570.

v. 54. astate] i. e. estate, rank, dignity.

—— most lenen] i. e. must lean, bend, bow.

v. 55. arrect] i. e. raise.

v. 58. ryall] i. e. royal.

Page 364. v. 65. wele] i. e. well.

v. 66. embesy] i. e. embusy.

—— holl corage] i. e. whole heart.

v. 68. were] i. e. wear.

v. 69. wonder slake] i. e. wonderfully slack.

v. 70. lake] i. e. lack, fault.

v. 71. ne were] i. e. were it not.

v. 72. bokis ... sone ... rase] i. e. books ... soon ... erase.

v. 73. sith] i. e. since.

v. 74. Elyconis] i. e. Helicon’s.

v. 75. endeuour hymselfe] i. e. exert himself (compare v. 936).

v. 77. sittynge] i. e. proper, becoming.

v. 79. to] i. e. too.

v. 80. comprised] Compare our author in Lenuoy to Wolsey;

“And hym moost lowly pray, In his mynde to comprise Those wordes,” &c.

vol. ii. 84.

v. 81. rin] i. e. run.

Page 365. v. 83. pullishe] i. e. polish.

v. 86. remorde] See note, p. 193. v. 101.

v. 94. mo ... enduce] i. e. more ... bring in, adduce.

v. 95. parde for to kyll] i. e. par dieu, verily, for to be killed.

v. 96. enuectyfys] i. e. invectives.

v. 101. the grey] i. e. the badger. Juliana Berners says;

“That beest a bausyn hyght: a brok or a graye: Thyse thre names he hath the soth for to saye.”

The Book of St. Albans, sig. D vi.

v. 102. gose ... oliphaunt] i. e. goose ... elephant.

v. 103. ageyne] i. e. against.

Page 366. v. 110. confecture] i. e. composition.

v. 111. diffuse is to expounde] i. e. is difficult to expound: see note, p. 144. v. 768.

v. 112. make ... fawt] i. e. compose ... fault.

v. 114. motyue] i. e. motion. So in the next line but one is “promotyue,” i. e. promotion: and so Lydgate has “ymaginatyfe” for—imagination. Fall of Prynces, B. v. leaf cxvii. ed. Wayland.

v. 115. auaunce] i. e. advance.

v. 116. rowme] i. e. room, place.

v. 121. gyse] i. e. guise, fashion.

v. 122. iche man doth hym dres] i. e. each man doth address, apply, himself.

v. 124. bokis] i. e. books.

Page 366. v. 127. loke] i. e. look.

v. 129. mo] i. e. more.

Page 367. v. 133. Ageyne] i. e. Against.

v. 136. wele] i. e. well.

v. 137. rasid] i. e. erased.

v. 140. Sith] i. e. Since.

—— defaut] i. e. default, want.

—— konnyng] i. e. (not so much—knowledge, learning, as) skill, ability.

v. 141. apposelle] i. e. question.

“And to pouert she put this opposayle.”

Lydgate’s Fall of Prynces, B. iii. leaf lxvi. ed. Wayland.

“Made vnto her this vncouth apposayle: Why wepe ye so,” &c.

Id. B. v. leaf cxxviii.

—— wele inferrid] i. e. well brought in.

v. 142.

quikly it is Towchid]

i. e. it is lively, subtly expressed: compare v. 592 and v. 1161, where the words are applied to visible objects.

—— debarrid] See note, p. 237. v. 60; and compare Gentylnes and Nobylyte (attributed without grounds to Heywood) n. d.;

“That reason is so grete no man can debarr.”

Sig. C iii.

Page 368. v. 149. sittyng] i. e. proper, becoming.

v. 152. corage] i. e. encourage.

v. 153. fresshely] i. e. elegantly: see note on v. 39. p. 302.

v. 155. bruitid] i. e. reported, spoken of.

v. 156. outray] See note, p. 123. v. 87, where this passage is examined.

v. 162. Ierome, in his preamble Frater Ambrosius, &c.] The Epistle of Jerome to Paulinus, prefixed to the Vulgate, begins, “Frater Ambrosius tua mihi munuscula perferens,” &c., and contains this passage: “Unde et Æschines, cum Rhodi exularet, et legeretur illa Demosthenis oratio, quam adversus eum habuerat, mirantibus cunctis atque laudantibus, suspirans ait, Quid, si ipsam audissetis bestiam sua verba resonantem?” It may be found also in Hieronymi Opp. I. 1005. ed. 1609.

Page 369. v. 172. most] i. e. must.

v. 180. wele ... avaunce] i. e. well ... advance.

v. 183. thefte and brybery] See note, p. 256. v. 1242.

v. 184. pyke] i. e. pick.

Page 369. v. 186. cokwoldes] i. e. cuckolds.

v. 187. wetewoldis] i. e. wittols, tame cuckolds.

“Wetewoldis that suffre synne in her syghtes.”

Lydgate’s Assemble de dyeus, sig. c i. n. d. 4to.

v. 188. lidderons] So before, lydderyns; see note, p. 267. v. 1945: but here, it would seem, the word is used in the more confined sense of—sluggish, slothful, idle fellows.

—— losels] See note, p. 209. v. 138.

—— noughty packis] See note, p. 203. v. 58.—If Skelton had been required to distinguish exactly between the meanings of these terms of reproach, he would perhaps have been nearly as much at a loss as his editor.

v. 189. Some facers, some bracers, some make great crackis] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

v. 192. courte rowlis] i. e. court-rolls.—Warton cites this and the next two verses as “nervous and manly lines.” Hist. of E. P. ii. 354. ed. 4to.

v. 196. rinne] i. e. run.

Page 370. v. 198. cunnyng] i. e. knowledge, learning.

v. 200. a mummynge] See note, p. 278. v. 83.

v. 201. sadnesse] See note, p. 259. v. 1382.

v. 203. faute] i. e. fault.

v. 204. to] i. e. too.

v. 205. can ... scole] i. e. knows ... school.

v. 207. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 208. stole] i. e. stool.

v. 209. Iacke a thrummis bybille] See note, p. 189. v. 204.

v. 211. agayne] i. e. against.

v. 212. dwte] i. e. duty.

v. 218. to] i. e. too.

Page 371. v. 223. lay] See note, p. 219. v. 103.

—— werkis] i. e. works.

v. 227. most] i. e. must.

v. 232. condiscendid] See note, p. 237. v. 39.

v. 233. clarionar] Is used here for—trumpeter: but the words properly are not synonymous;

“Of trumpeters and eke of clarioneres.”

Lydgate’s Warres of Troy, B. i. sig. C v. ed. 1555.

and Skelton himself has afterwards in the present poem, “trumpettis and clariouns.” v. 1507.

v. 235. Eolus, your trumpet] i. e. Æeolus, your trumpeter.

“A trumpet stode and proudly gan to blowe, Which slayne was and fro the tre doun throw.”

Lydgate’s Fall of Prynces, B. v. leaf cxxx. ed. Wayland.

So Chaucer makes Æolus trumpeter to Fame: see House of Fame, B. iii.

Page 371. v. 236. mercyall] i. e. martial.

v. 239. prease] i. e. press, throng.

v. 240. hole rowte] i. e. whole crowd, assembly.

v. 243. this trumpet were founde out] See note, p. 251. v. 977.

v. 244. hardely] i. e. assuredly.

v. 245. eyne] i. e. eyes.

Page 372. v. 248. presid ... to] i. e. pressed ... too.

v. 250. Some whispred, some rownyd] See note, p. 120. v. 513.

v. 255. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 258. plumpe] i. e. cluster, mass. “Stode stille as hit had ben a plompe of wood.” Morte d’Arthur, B. i. cap. xvi. vol. i. 27. ed. Southey. Dryden has the word; and the first writer perhaps after his time who used it was Sir W. Scott.

v. 260. timorous] i. e. terrible.

v. 264. rowte] i. e. crowd, assembly.

v. 265. girnid] i. e. grinned.

v. 266. peuysshe] i. e. silly, foolish.

—— masyd] i. e. bewildered, confounded.

v. 267. whyste] i. e. still.

—— the nonys] i. e. the occasion.

v. 268. iche ... stode] i. e. each ... stood.

v. 269. wonderly] i. e. wonderfully.

v. 270. A murmur of mynstrels] So in many of our early English dramas “a noise of musicians” is used for a company or band of musicians.

v. 272. Traciane] i. e. Thracian.

—— herped meledyously] i. e. harped melodiously.

Page 373. v. 274. armony] i. e. harmony.

v. 275. gree] i. e. agree.

v. 278. gle] i. e. music.

v. 279. auaunce] i. e. advance.

v. 282. Sterte ... fote] i. e. Started ... foot.

v. 285.

———— lake Of]

i. e. lack of,—less than.

v. 288. cronell] i. e. coronal, garland.

Page 373. v. 289. heris encrisped] i. e. hairs formed into curls, curling.

v. 290. Daphnes] i. e. Daphne. So our early poets wrote the name;

“A maiden whilom there was one Which Daphnes hight.”

Gower’s Conf. Am. B. iii. fol. lvi. ed. 1554.

“Her name was Daphnys which was deuoyed of loue.”

The Castell of pleasure, (by Nevil, son of Lord Latimer), sig. A iii. 1518.

So afterwards in the present poem we find Cidippes for Cydippe, v. 885; and see note, p. 123. v. 70.

—— the darte of lede] From Ovid, Met. i. 471.

v. 291. ne wolde] i. e. would not.

v. 292. herte] i. e. heart.

v. 295. Meddelyd with murnynge] i. e. Mingled with mourning.

v. 296. O thoughtfull herte] See note, p. 101. v. 10.

v. 298. loke] i. e. look.

v. 300.

the tre as he did take Betwene his armes, he felt her body quake]

From Ovid, Met. i. 553.

Page 374. v. 302. he assurded into this exclamacyon]—assurded, i. e. broke forth—a word which I have not elsewhere met with, but evidently formed from the not uncommon verb sourd, to rise. “Ther withinne sourdeth and spryngeth a fontayne or welle.” Caxton’s Mirrour of the world, 1480. sig. e v.: in that work, a few lines after, occurs “resourdeth.”

v. 306. adyment] i. e. adamant.

v. 307. ouerthwhart] i. e. cross, perverse, adverse.

v. 310. Sith] i. e. Since.

v. 314. gresse] i. e. grass. This stanza is also imitated from Ovid, Met. i. 521.

v. 315. axes] See note, p. 100. v. 9.

v. 317. raist] i. e. arrayest: see note on title of poem, p. 197.

v. 318. But sith I haue lost, &c.] Again from Ovid, Met. i. 557.

v. 324. poetis laureat, &c.] It must be remembered that formerly a poet laureat meant a person who had taken a degree in grammar, including rhetoric and versification: and that the word poet was applied to a writer of prose as well as of verse; “Poet a connyng man.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lv. (Table of Subst.).

“And poetes to preoven hit. Porfirie and Plato Aristotle, Ovidius,” &c.

Peirs Plouhman, p. 210. ed. Whit.

“Nor sugred deties [ditties] of Tullius Cicero.”

Lydgate’s Lyfe and passion of seint Albon, sig. B ii. ed. 1534.

Page 374. v. 328. Esiodus, the iconomicar] i. e. Hesiod, the writer on husbandry (the eds. by a misprint have “icononucar,”—which Warton says he “cannot decypher.” Hist. of E. P., ii. 352 (note), ed. 4to.) Among MSS. Dig. Bod. 147. is “Carmen Domini Walteri de Henleye quod vocatur Yconomia sive Housbundria:” compare Cicero; “quam copiose ab eo [Xenophonte] agricultura laudatur in eo libro, qui est de tuenda re familiari, qui Œconomicus inscribitur.” Cato Major, c. 17.

v. 329. fresshe] i. e. elegant: see note, p. 302. v. 39.

Page 375. v. 335. engrosyd] i. e. plumped up, swollen.

—— flotis] i. e. flowings,—drops: various reading, “droppes;” see note ad l. (“Flotyce. Spuma.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499, is a distinct word.)

v. 338. Percius presed forth with problemes diffuse]—presed, i. e. pressed: diffuse, i. e. difficult to be understood; see note, p. 144. v. 768. “Skelton, undoubtedly a man of learning, calls Persius (not unhappily for his mode of thinking) a writer of problems diffuse.” Gifford’s Introd. to Persius, p. xxxi. ed. 1817.

v. 340. satirray] Is this word to be explained—satirist, or satirical?

v. 344. auaunce] i. e. advance.

v. 345. mengith] i. e. mingleth.

v. 347. wrate ... mercyall] i. e. wrote ... martial.

v. 352. Orace also with his new poetry] “That is, Horace’s Art of Poetry. Vinesauf wrote De Nova Poetria. Horace’s Art is frequently mentioned under this title.” Warton’s Hist. of E. P., ii. 353 (note), ed. 4to.

Page 376. v. 359. Boyce] i. e. Boethius.

—— recounfortyd] i. e. recomforted,—comforted.

v. 360.

Maxymyane, with his madde ditiis, How dotynge age wolde iape with yonge foly]

—iape, i. e. jest, joke. The Elegiarum Liber of Maximianus, which has been often printed as the production of Cornelius Gallus, may be found, with all that can be told concerning its author, in Wernsdorf’s Poetæ Latini Minores, tomi sexti pars prior. In these six elegies Maximianus deplores the evils of old age, relates the pursuits and loves of his youth, &c. &c. Perhaps the line “How dotynge age wolde iape with yonge foly” (in which case iape would have the same meaning here as in our author’s Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale, v. 20. vol. i. 28) is a particular allusion to Elegy v., where Maximianus informs us, that, having been sent on an embassy, at an advanced period of life, he became enamoured of a “Graia puella,” &c., the adventure being described in the grossest terms.

Page 376. v. 365. Johnn Bochas with his volumys grete] In Skelton’s time, the De Genealogia Deorum, the De Casibus Virorum et Fœminarum Illustrium, and other now-forgotten works of Boccaccio, were highly esteemed,—more, perhaps, than the Decamerone.

v. 366. full craftely that wrate] i. e. that wrote full skilfully.

v. 368. probate] See note, p. 236. v. 4.

v. 372. Poggeus ... with many a mad tale] When this poem was written, the Facetiæ of Poggio enjoyed the highest popularity. In The Palice of Honour, Gawen Douglas, enumerating the illustrious writers at the Court of the Muses, says,

“Thair was Plautus, Poggius, and Persius.”

p. 27. ed. Ban. 1827.

v. 374. a frere of Fraunce men call sir Gagwyne, &c.]—frere, i. e. friar: concerning Gaguin, see Account of Skelton and his Writings.

v. 376. bote is of all bale] See note, p. 268. v. 2096.

Page 377. v. 380. Valerius Maximus by name] i. e. Valerius who has the name Maximus (to distinguish him from Valerius Flaccus).

v. 381. Vincencius in Speculo, that wrote noble warkis]—warkis, i. e. works. The Speculum Majus of Vincentius Bellovacensis (naturale, morale, doctrinale, et historiale), a vast treatise in ten volumes folio, usually bound in four, was first printed in 1473. See the Biog. Univ., and Hallam’s Introd. to the Lit. of Europe, i. 160.

v. 382. Pisandros] “Our author,” says Warton, “got the name of Pisander, a Greek poet, from Macrobius, who cites a few of his verses.” Hist. of E. P., ii. 353 (note), ed. 4to. A mistake: Macrobius (Sat. v. 2.) mentions, but does not cite, Pisander.

v. 383. blissed Bachus, that mastris oft doth frame]—mastris, i. e. disturbances, strifes: see note, p. 264. v. 1738.

v. 386. sadly ... auysid] i. e. seriously, earnestly ... considered, observed.

v. 389. fresshely be ennewed] See notes, p. 144. v. 775. p. 302. v. 39.

v. 390.

The monke of Bury ... Dane Johnn Lydgate]

—Dane, equivalent to Dominus. So at the commencement of his Lyfe of our Lady, printed by Caxton, folio, n. d.; “This book was compyled by dan John lydgate monke of Burye,” &c. He belonged to the Benedictine abbey of Bury in Suffolk.

Page 377. v. 391. theis Englysshe poetis thre] “That only these three English poets [Gower, Chaucer, Lydgate] are here mentioned, may be considered as a proof that only these three were yet thought to deserve the name.” Warton’s Hist. of E. P., ii. 354. ed. 4to. So the Scottish poets of Skelton’s time invariably selected these three as most worthy of praise: see Laing’s note on Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 355.

v. 393. Togeder in armes, as brethern, enbrasid] So Lydgate;

“Embraced in armes as they had be knet Togyder with a gyrdell.”

Le Assemble de dyeus, sig. d iii. n. d.

v. 395. tabers] i. e. tabards: see the earlier portion of note, p. 283. v. 318.

v. 397. Thei wantid nothynge but the laurell] Meaning,—that they were not poets laureate: see note on v. 324. p. 307.

v. 398. godely] i. e. goodly.

v. 402. enplement] i. e. employment, place.

Page 378. v. 405. The brutid Britons of Brutus Albion]—brutid, i. e. famed. So Lydgate;

“Reioyse ye folkes that borne be in Bretayne, Called otherwise Brutus Albion.”

Fall of Prynces, B. viii. fol. viii. ed. Wayland.

v. 410. Arrectinge vnto your wyse examinacion] See note, p. 237. v. 95.

v. 414. besy] i. e. busy.

v. 417. hooll] i. e. whole.

v. 420. poynted] i. e. appointed.

v. 421. pullisshyd] i. e. polished.

v. 425. mowte] i. e. might.

Page 379. v. 428. preuentid] i. e. anticipated.

v. 429. meritory] i. e. deserved, due.

v. 431. regraciatory] i. e. return of thanks.

v. 432. poynt you to be prothonatory] i. e. appoint you to be prothonotary.

v. 433. holl] i. e. whole.

v. 434. Auaunced] i. e. Advanced.