Note 59 — GEOFFREY CHAUCER.

a fair one for the mastership. [60] hunting. [61] dainty. [62] pass. [63] did not care a plucked hen for the text. [64] careless; removed from the restraints of his order and vows. [65] mad. [66] toil. [67] biddeth. [68] hard rider. [69] spurring. [70] wrought on the edge. [71] a fine kind of fur. [72] bald. [73] bright. [74] Shone like a furnace under a cauldron. [75] tormented. [76] Friar. [77] A friar with a licence to beg within certain limits. [78] Unto. [79] country gentlemen. [80] knew. [81] have. [82] poor. [83] shriven. [84] durst make a boast. [85] must. [86] stuffed. [87] a stringed instrument. [88] story telling. [89] have. [90] profit. [91] poor people. [92] farm. This couplet only appears in the Hengwrt MS. As Mr. Pollard says, it is probably Chaucer's, but may have been omitted by him as it interrupts the sentence. Cf. Globe Chaucer. [93] ere. [94] The proceeds of his begging exceeded his fixed income. [95] Days appointed for the amicable settlement of differences. [96] half cloak.