Book 1 — NOTES TO BOOK I.

P. 11, l. 336. If by aryeit is here meant the sign, not the constellation of Aries, the day referred to is April 1 or 2, according to Chaucer’s “Astrolabie.”

338. bewis, boughs.

340. makyne gone, did make.

341. in ther chere, after their fashion. (For chere, see Glossary.)

345. auerding to, belonging to.

351. Anoit, annoyed.

352. For why, wherefore; so also for-thi, therefore.

354. can, began.

355. sende, sent.

358. heryng, hear (infin. mood). In the next line it occurs as a present participle.

362. to pas hyme, to go, depart.

364. meit, to dream of; aperans, an appearance, apparition.

P. 12, l. 365. hore, hair.

375. vombe, womb; hence bowels.

377. stert, started.

384. gert, caused.

390. traist, trust.

397. demande, demur, delay.

398. at, that.

P. 13, l. 407. whill, until.

408. the, they.

410. to viting, to know.

412. shauyth al hall, sheweth all whole.

414. chesith, chooseth.

422. shire, sir.

424. fore to awysing, in order to take counsel. 432. All this about astronomy (i.e. astrology) should be compared with Gower; Conf. Amantis, lib. vii; ed. Pauli, vol. 3, pp. 133, 134. Arachell, Nembrote, Moises, Hermes are there mentioned as astrologers.

433. The MS. has “set” (not with a long s). Mr Stevenson has “fet,” which would seem right.

P. 14, l. 435. nembrot, Nimrod; see Genesis and Exodus (E.E.T.S.), l. 659.

436. herynes, miswritten for herymes, i.e. Hermes.

439. “The which they found were wondrously evil set.”

440. his sweuen met, dreamed his dream.

443. waryng in to were, were in doubt.

444. danger, power to punish; compare Shakspere’s use of the word.

457. but delay, without delay.

459. stondith heuy cherith, stood heavy-cheered, was sad in his demeanour.

465. fundyng, found.

466. depend to, depend upon.

P. 15, l. 475. tone, taken.

478. assey, test.

481. record, to tell out, speak.

487. preseruith It allan, is preserved alone.

499. affy in-tyll, rely upon.

500. failye, fail.

504. there clergy, their science.

P. 16, l. 519. “Through the watery lion, who is also faithful, and through the leech and eke the water also, and through the counsel of the flower.” It is very possible this passage is partly corrupt; l. 520 should certainly be (as may be seen from lines 2010, 2056),

The meanings of lion, leech, and flower are fully explained, however, in lines 2013-2120.

524. weyne, vain.

527. passid nat his thoght, left not his thoughts.

531. rachis, braches, dogs.

533. grewhundis, grayhounds.

536. This purely conjectural line is merely inserted to carry on the sense. It is imitated from line 3293. In the next line we should read “grewhundis,” rather than “grewhund.”

538. Befor ther hedis, before their heads.

P. 17, l. 545. “All armed, as was then the fashion.”

546. salust, saluted.

548. kend, known.

549. leuyth, liveth.

552. The rime requires “land,” as in l. 638.

553. yald hyme our, yield him over.

554. if tribut, give tribute.

566. recist, resist; mone bee, must be.

568. be, by.

569. day moneth day, ere this day month; comp. l. 1162.

P. 18, l. 577. fairhed, fair-hood, beauty.

587. magre myne entent, in spite of my intention.

591. nome, took.

593. Inquere at, inquire of.

596. wes, was.

599. rase, rose.

605. accordith, agree thereto.

606. recordith, belongith.

607. visare, wiser.

P. 19, l. 621. This spek I lest, this I list to speak.

622. varnit, warned.

626. “Though the season of the year was contrary.”

627. atte, at the.

629. the ilk, that (Scotch thilk).

632. Melyhalt, the name both of a hill, and of the town built upon it.

636. affray, terror.

642. wnconquest, unconquered.

643. cwre, care.

P. 20, l. 649. nemmyt, named.

652. were, war.

654. or than to morn, earlier than to-morrow.

660. our few, over few.

677. northest, north-east.

P. 21, l. 686. fechteris, fighters.

688. holde, held.

691. presone, prison.

697. peite, pity.

699. The metre of Lancelot’s lament is that of Chaucer’s “Cuckoo and Nightingale,” and was very possibly copied from it. Qwhat haue y gilt, what crime have I committed.

702. ago, gone.

703. nat, naught; me glaid, gladden me.

706. til haue, to have.

709. Sen thelke tyme, since that time.

P. 22, l. 718. of remed, for a remedy.

719. sesith, ceaseth.

723. with this lady, by this lady.

728. laisere, leisure.

731. diuerss wais sere, divers several ways.

733. bur, bore.

735. cher, car.

740. dout, to fear.

745. but were, without doubt. This expression often occurs.

P. 23, l. 751. few menye, small company; an oddly sounding expression to modern ears.

753. cold, called.

754. hot, hight, was named.

755. but in his cumpany, unless he had with him.

757. He saith; the speaker is the captain of the hundred knights, called in l. 806 Maleginis.

768. als fell, just as many.

777. hard, heard.

781. clepit, called.

P. 24, l. 793, as he wel couth, as he well knew how.

796. sen, seen.

800. sen, since.

806. was hot, was hight, was named.

809. In myde the borde and festinit in the stell, In the midst they encounter, and fastened in the steel. See l. 850.

812. Rout, company.

815. ferde, fourth.

817. sauch thar latter batell steir, saw their last division stir.

P. 25, l. 820. gane his mortall fell. A word seems here omitted; if after mortall we insert strokis, the sense will be, “His enemies began his mortall strokes to feel.”

825. worth, worthy. It would improve the metre to read worthy (l. 875).

828. In to were, in war, in the strife.

829. hyme bure, bore himself.

839. to-for, heretofore.

841. Atour, i.e. at over, across.

842. assall, assault. The rime shews we should read assaill, as in l. 855.

849. socht atour, made their way across. The use of seke in Early English is curious.

P. 26, l. 861. setith his payn vpone, devotes his endeavours to.

868. al to-kerwith, wholly cutteth in pieces.

880. dirk, dark.

883. tan and slan, taken and slain.

P. 27, l. 895. It frequently occurs in the MS. that a space is left at the beginning of a line, and the first letter of the line is omitted. It is evident that the intention was that the first letter should be illuminated, and that this, after all, was not done. Here, for instance, the T is omitted, as indicated by the square brackets. So also in l. 1083, etc.

897. pasing home, go home.

899. was vent, had gone.

905. dulay, delay. So also duclar for declare.

907. comyne, came.

908. ill paid, displeased.

909. homly, humbly. Stevenson reads hourly, but this is wrong; see l. 914.

911. carful, full of care, unhappy.

912. withouten were, without doubt.

914. lawly, lowly.

918. wight, with (unusual, and perhaps wrong).

P. 28, l. 924. leife, live.

929. eft, after.

933. thar longith, there belongeth.

943. I was for til excuss, I had some excuse.

944. “Because I did behove (to do it), out of very need.”

946. lefe it but, leave it without.

953. ma, make.

954. ga, go.

955. of new, anew.

958. But if that deth or other lat certan, “Except it be owing to death or other sure hindrance.”

P. 29, l. 960. be hold, be held. MS. behold. Stevenson suggested the alteration, which is certainly correct.

961. withthy, on the condition that.

965. promyt, promise; als fast as, as soon as.

973. ferd, fourth.

982. “Where we shall decide the end of this war.”

P. 30, l. 997. cag, cage, prison.

999. amen, pleasant.

1000. vodis, woods.

1004. lust, pleasure (Ch.). But the line is obscure; unless we read “diuersitee.”

1009. “His spirit started (owing to the) love (which) anon hath caught him,” etc.

1012. at, that.

1014. “(As to) whom they know not at all.”

1019. sen at, since that.

1022. the dewod, devoid thee.

1024. and, if.

1026. be ony mayne, by any mean.

P. 31, l. 1027. y red, I advise.

1035. To warnnyng, to warn.

1040. our the furdis, over the fords.

1044. oyer. So in MS.; the y representing the old th (þ); other.

1046. hufyng, halting.

1050. worschip, honour. “It were more expedient to maintain your honour.”

1058. wonk, winked.

1062. vare, aware.

P. 32, l. 1064. The meaning of “ferst-conquest” is “first-conquered” (conquest being Old Fr. for conquered). It is explained in l. 1547 as having been a title given to the king whom Galiot first subdued.

1067. ferss, fierce.

1070. suppos, although.

1073. he; viz. the shrew.

1077. The MS. has “ſched.”

1080. ymen, I mean.

1095. tais, takes.

P. 33, l. 1109. Galyot put for Galiotes, the genitive case-ending being often omitted, after a proper name especially.

1110. prewit, proved, tried.

1129. traist, trust.

1131. that euery thing hath cure, that (of) everything hath care.

P. 34, l. 1135. “Aye from the time that the sun began to light the world’s face, until he was gone.”

1137. o forss, perforce.

1141. taiis, takes.

1142. hecht, promised.

1151. failȝeis, fail.

1154. fet, fetched.

1156. stant, standeth.

1162. resput, respite.

1166. very knychtis passing, weary knights go.

P. 35, l. 1170. till spere, to inquire.

1177. ne wor his worschip, had it not been for his valour.

1187. qwheyar, whether.

1191-4. “And fond,” etc. These four lines are now for the first time printed. They were omitted by Stevenson, evidently by accident.

1196. Per dee. Fr. par Dieu: an oath common in old ballads, generally in the form pardy.

1197. vsyt, used.

1198. “I advise that we go unto his arms” (armour).

1203. haill, whole.

P. 36, l. 1207. abwsyt, abused, i.e. made an ill use of.

1208. vsyt, used.

1209. suppos the best that lewis, even though (it were) the best that lives.

1217. on slep, asleep. The prefix a- in English is due to the Saxon on.

1221. al to-hurt, etc. See note in Glossary on the word To-kerwith.

1225. sauch, saw; rewit, rued, pitied.

1233. one syd a lyt, a little on one side.

1236. our mekill, over much.

P. 37, l. 1240. yarof, thereof.

1241. ruput, repute, think.

1242. ablare, abler, readier.

1253. Insert a comma after thret, and destroy that after lowe. The meaning perhaps is, “But what if he be appealed to and threatened, and (meanwhile) his heart be elsewhere set to love.” Observe that and is often the third or fourth word in the sentence it should begin. See l. 2833.

1258. ȝhe tyne yowr low, you lose your love.

1260. conclusit, ended.

1265. mokil, much.

1268. of new, anew, again.

1273. pan, pain.