NOTES TO VOLUME I.

OF THE DEATH OF THE NOBLE PRINCE, KYNGE EDWARDE THE FORTH.

Page 1. “Indeed if he well weighed that Epitaph of King Edward the fourth, made by Skelton, which I find inserted amongst the vnprinted Workes of Lydgate, he would be more modest in this kinde.” Qvaternio, 1633, p. 239, by Nash, who cites a considerable portion of this poem from a MS.—Lydgate could not have been alive at the period of Edward’s decease: see Warton’s Hist. of E.P. ii. 51. ed. 4to. (note), Ritson’s Bibl. Poet., &c.

Edward the Fourth died April 9th, 1483, in the 41st year of his age and the 23d of his reign: see Sir H. Nicolas’s Chron. of Hist. pp. 325, 349, sec. ed. These lines were probably composed soon after the king’s death—per Skeltonidem laureatum having been subsequently added to the title.

v. 8. lykynge] i. e. joy, pleasure.

Page 2. v. 22. a chery fayre] If this is to be understood as cherry-fair (which I think doubtful), the line ought to be pointed,

The first of the following parallel passages is cited by Richardson in his Dict. under Cherry (as also from the same work of Gower,

and Mr. Halliwell has obligingly forwarded to me a letter from one of his friends, who states that “cherry-wakes or cherry-fairs used not long since to be held in Worcestershire on Sunday-evenings after divine service, and that in his own village there were three in the season, one for the early cherries, and two others for those of later growth.”

Page 2. v. 28. to contribute Fraunce] i. e. to take tribute of France. In 1475 Edward withdrew from France with his army on condition that Louis should pay him immediately 75 thousand crowns, settle on him an annuity for life of 50 thousand more, &c. See Lingard’s Hist. of Engl. v. 303. ed. 8vo.

v. 35. as who sayth] A not unfrequent expression in our early poetry, equivalent to—as one may say, as the saying is.

Page 3. v. 37. I se wyll, they leve that doble my ȝeris] i. e. I see well, that they live that double my years.

v. 38. This dealid this world] i. e. Thus dealed this world. Skelton elsewhere, like many of our old poets, uses this for thus; as in his Ware the Hauke;

v. 40. Had I wyst] i. e. Had I known,—the exclamation of one who repents of a thing done unadvisedly. It is very common in our early poetry. In The Paradyse of daynty deuises, 1576, the second copy of verses is entitled Beware of had I wyst.

v. 52. occupy] i. e. possess,—or, rather, use: “Surgyons occupy oyntmentes, &c., Vulnarii medici vtuntur,” &c. Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. I. vi. ed. 1530.

v. 53. I made the Tower stronge] “Edward iv ... fortified the Tower, and made it strong.” Stow’s Survey, B. i. 79. ed. 1720.

v. 54. I purchased Tetersall] I have not found elsewhere any mention of Edward the Fourth having possessed Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire. “It does not appear into whose hands the Tattershall estate fell after the death of the Lord Treasurer Cromwell [in 1455], until the year 1487, when Henry VII. granted the manor to his mother Margaret Countess of Richmond,” &c. Hist. of the County of Lincoln, ii. 73.

v. 55. I amendid Douer] “K. Edw. iv., by the advice of Lord Cobham, expended 10,000l. in repairing and fortifying the several works, and beautifying the apartments in it [Dover Castle].” Hasted’s Hist. of Kent, iv. 63.

Page 3. v. 56. And London I prouoked to fortify the wall]—prouoked, i. e. incited, caused.—“In the Seventeenth of Edward iv., Ralph Josceline, Maior, caused part of the Wall about the City to be repaired, to wit, between Aldgate and Aldersgate,” &c. Stow’s Survey, B. I. 10. ed. 1720.

v. 57. I made Notingam a place full royall] Leland, describing Nottingham Castle, says; “But the moste bewtifullest Part and gallant Building for lodgyng is on the Northe side, wher Edward the 4. began a right sumptuus pece of Stone Work, of the which he clerely finichid one excellent goodly Toure of 3. Hightes yn Building, and brought up the other Part likewise from the Foundation with Stone and mervelus fair cumpacid Windoes to layyng of the first soyle for Chambers and ther lefte.” Itin. i. 107. ed. 1770.

v. 58. Wyndsore] “The present magnificent fabrick [St. George’s Chapel at Windsor], which exhibits one of the most beautiful specimens in this or any other kingdom, of that richly ornamented species of architecture, which prevailed towards the close of the fifteenth and the commencement of the 16th century, was begun by King Edward IV., who having found it necessary to take down the old chapel on account of its decayed state, resolved to build another on the same site, upon a larger scale, and committed the superintendence of the building to Richard Beauchamp, bishop of Salisbury. The work was not completed till the reign of King Henry VIII.,” &c. Lysons’s Berkshire, p. 424: see too p. 468 of the same volume.—An account of the manors, &c., granted by Edward to Windsor College, will be found in Pote’s Hist. of Wind. Castle, p. 107.

—— Eltam] “K. Edw. iv. repaired this house [Eltham Palace] with much cost, and inclosed Horne-Park,” &c. Hasted’s Hist. of Kent, i. 51.

Page 4. v. 64. solas] i. e. sport, amusement.

v. 66. Lady Bes] Edward married, May 1st, 1464, the Lady Elizabeth Grey, widow of Sir John Grey, and daughter of Wydevile Lord Rivers by Jacquetta (or Jacqueline) Duchess of Bedford.

v. 70. But Windsore alone, now I haue no mo]—mo, i. e. more.—“He [Edward IV.] lies buried at Windsor, in the new Chappel (whose Foundation himself had laid, being all the Works of Piety by him left) under a Monument of Steel, polish’d and gilt, [iron gilt—see Lysons’s Berkshire, p. 210.], representing a Pair of Gates, betwixt Two Towers, all of curious transparent Workmanship after the Gothick Manner, which is placed in the North-Arch, faced through with Touch-Stone, near to the High-Altar.” Sandford’s Geneal. Hist. p. 413. ed. 1707.

Page 4. v. 73.

—stercorry, i. e. dung: frete, i. e. eat, devour: heare, i. e. hair.—In cap. iii. of Meditationes piissimæ de cognitione humanæ conditionis, a piece attributed to Saint Bernard, we find, “Nihil aliud est homo, quam sperma fœtidum, saccus stercorum, cibus vermium.... Cur ergo superbis homo.... Quid superbis pulvis et cinis,” &c. Bernardi Opp. ii. 335-36. ed. 1719. In a Rythmus de contemptu mundi, attributed to the same saint, are these lines;

(This Rythmus is printed by Mr. Wright among The Latin Poems attributed to Walter Mapes, p. 147.) So also Lydgate in a poem on the mutability of human affairs;

—of wyt the well: so in Cæsar Augustus;

“Of witt art thou the welle.”—Townely Mysteries, p. 68.

v. 85. I haue played my pageyond] i. e. I have played my pageant,—my part on the stage of life. Compare

“To playe this parte or padgeant.” Palsgrave’s Acolastus, 1540, sig. S.—The word pageant was originally applied to the temporary erections (sometimes placed upon wheels) on which miracle-plays were exhibited, afterwards to the exhibition itself. See Sharp’s Diss. on Coventry Pag. and Myst., p. 2; Collier’s Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poet., ii. 151.

Page 4. v. 86. yeld] i. e. eld, age.

Page 5. v. 87. This] i. e. Thus: see note on v. 38.

SKELTON LAUREATUS LIBELLUM SUUM, &c.

Page 6. v. 3. leonis] See note on v. 109 of next poem.

VPON THE DOLOUR[U]S DETHE AND MUCHE LAMENTABLE CHAUNCE OF THE MOST HONORABLE ERLE OF NORTHUMBERLANDE.

This elegy must have been written soon after the earl’s murder: see v. 162.—“The subject of this poem ... is the death of Henry Percy, fourth earl of Northumberland, who fell a victim to the avarice of Henry vii. In 1489 the parliament had granted the king a subsidy for carrying on the war in Bretagne. This tax was found so heavy in the North, that the whole country was in a flame. The E. of Northumberland, then lord lieutenant for Yorkshire, wrote to inform the king of the discontent, and praying an abatement. But nothing is so unrelenting as avarice: the king wrote back that not a penny should be abated. This message being delivered by the earl with too little caution, the populace rose, and, supposing him to be the promoter of their calamity, broke into his house, and murdered him, with several of his attendants, who yet are charged by Skelton with being backward in their duty on this occasion. This melancholy event happened at the earl’s seat at Cocklodge, near Thirske, in Yorkshire, April 28, 1489. See Lord Bacon, &c. If the reader does not find much poetical merit in this old poem (which yet is one of Skelton’s best [?]), he will see a striking picture of the state and magnificence kept up by our ancient nobility during the feudal times. This great earl is described here as having, among his menial servants, KNIGHTS, SQUIRES, and even BARONS: see v. 32, 183, &c., which, however different from modern manners, was formerly not unusual with our greater Barons, whose castles had all the splendour and offices of a royal court, before the Laws against Retainers abridged and limited the number of their attendants.” Percy.

Page 6. v. 4. Of the bloud royall descending nobelly] “The mother of Henry, first Earl of Northumberland, was Mary daughter to Henry E. of Lancaster, whose father Edmond was second son of K. Henry iii. The mother and wife of the second Earl of Northumberland were both lineal descendants of K. Edward iii. The Percys also were lineally descended from the Emperour Charlemagne and the ancient Kings of France, by his ancestor Josceline de Lovain (son of Godfrey Duke of Brabant), who took the name of Percy on marrying the heiress of that house in the reign of Hen. ii. Vid. Camdeni Britan., Edmondson, &c.” Percy.

v. 6. again] i. e. against.

Page 7. v. 14. Elyconys] i. e. Helicon’s.

v. 16. astate] i. e. estate, high rank.

v. 20. nobles] i. e. nobless, nobleness.

v. 21. dites] i. e. ditties.

v. 24. hastarddis] “i. e. perhaps, hasty, rash fellows.” Percy.—Jamieson gives “Hastard. Irascible.” Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang.

—— tene] i. e. wrath.

v. 26. Confetered] i. e. Confederated.

v. 27. slee] i. e. slay.

v. 30. ken] i. e. know.

v. 34. karlis of kind] i. e. churls by nature.

v. 35. slo] i. e. slay.

Page 8. v. 40. bode] i. e. abode.

v. 41. glose] “i. e. set a false gloss or colour.” Percy.

v. 43. redouted] i. e. dreaded.

v. 45. great estates] i. e. persons of great estate or rank.

—— lowted] i. e. bowed, made obeisance.

v. 46. mayny] i. e. train, company, set.

v. 48. paues] i. e. shield (properly a large shield covering the body).

v. 49. mot] i. e. may.

v. 51. fyll] i. e. fell.

v. 53. agayne] i. e. against.

v. 59. worshyp] i. e. honour, respectability.

v. 62. againe] i. e. against (and so in the next line).

v. 63. slee] i. e. slay.

Page 9. v. 71. fals packing] i. e. false dealing (packing is—iniquitous combination, collusion, for evil purposes, for deceiving, &c.).

v. 73. occupied] i. e. used: see note, p. 86, v. 52.

—— shilde] i. e. shield.

v. 78. renyed] i. e. refused.

v. 81. buskt them] “i. e. prepared themselves, made themselves ready.” Percy. Rather,—hied.

Page 9. v. 81. bushment] i. e. ambushment.

—— baile] i. e. sorrow, trouble.

v. 82. Againe] i. e. Against.

—— wring] “i. e. contend with violence.” Percy.

v. 84. forsed] i. e. regarded.

v. 87. Presed] i. e. Pressed.

v. 88. faught them agagne] i. e. fought against them.

Page 10. v. 96. whose] i. e. whoso.

v. 98. sort] i. e. set, band.

v. 100. wode] i. e. frantic, wild.

v. 102. gode] i. e. good.

v. 106. spylt] i. e. destroyed.

v. 109. The myghty lyon] “Alluding to his crest and supporters.” Percy.

—— doutted] i. e. dreaded.

v. 115. shoke] i. e. shook.

Page 11. v. 118. mysuryd] “i. e. misused, applied to a bad purpose.” Percy.

v. 123. sleest] i. e. slayest.

v. 125. enharpit of mortall drede] “i. e. hooked, or edged with mortal dread.” Percy.

v. 126. kit] i. e. cut.

v. 128. aureat] i. e. golden, excellent.

—— ellumynynge] i. e. embellishing.

v. 131. fuyson] i. e. abundance.

v. 134. Paregall] i. e. Equal (thoroughly equal).

v. 135. Surmountinge] i. e. Surpassing.

v. 136. reporte me] i. e. refer.

v. 142. enkankered] i. e. corroded.

v. 143. worshiply] i. e. honourably.

v. 145. supprised] i. e. overpowered, smitten.

—— lust] i. e. liking, desire.

Page 12. v. 151. Tretory] i. e. Traitory, treachery.

v. 152. holl] i. e. whole.

v. 154. sle] i. e. slay.

v. 155. hole quere] i. e. whole quire.

v. 160. holy] i. e. wholly.

v. 162. yonge lyon] See note on v. 109. The fifth Earl of Northumberland was only eleven years old at his father’s death.

v. 166. Agayn] i. e. Against.

v. 172. faytors] “i. e. deceivers, dissemblers.” Percy.—“Faytoure, Fictor, Simulator.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

Page 12. v. 176. chere] i. e. countenance, or (as it may mean here) spirit.

Page 13. v. 179. Algife] i. e. Although.

—— thorow saught] i. e. sought through.

v. 181. complayne] i. e. lament for.

v. 186. worshyply] i. e. honourably.

v. 195. finaunce] i. e. fine, forfeiture.

v. 196. from the fendys pray] “i. e. from being the prey of the fiends.” Percy.

v. 199. eterminable] i. e. interminable.

Page 14. v. 212. hole sorte] i. e. whole company.

v. 213. mot] i. e. may.

—— ad magistrum Rukshaw] The person here addressed was perhaps “William Rowkshaw, priest,” by whom a letter, dated from the Gilbertine priory of Watton in the east riding of Yorkshire, is printed among the Plumpton Correspondence, p. 82. Camd. Soc. ed.

AGAYNSTE A COMELY COYSTROWNE, THAT CURYOWSLY CHAWNTYD, AND CURRYSHLY COWNTRED, &c.

Page 15. Coystrowne (which Skelton uses again in his poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c., v. 171. vol. ii. 73., and has Latinized in his Speke, Parot, v. 125. vol. ii. 7.) is written by Chaucer quistron;

Urry renders it—a beggar (Fr. questeur); but Tyrwhitt observes, “I rather believe it signifies a scullion, un garçon de cuisine.” Gloss. to C.T.—Douce says that Tyrwhitt’s explanation is correct, citing the words “un quistron de sa cusyne” from the prose French chronicle of the Brut of England, and Caxton’s version of them, “a knave of his kychen.” See Gloss. to Weber’s Met. Rom.—Roquefort has “Questron: bâtard, enfant d’une prostituée.” Gloss. de la Lang. Rom.—In Scottish poetry custroun occurs several times: see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. and Suppl., where are various conjectures on the derivation and meaning of the word.

In Prompt. Parv. we find “Cowntryn in songe. Occento.” ed. 1499. To counter is properly—to sing an extemporaneous part upon the plain chant. Skelton uses the word in other places, and perhaps not always in its strict sense.

v. 4.

Snapper is commonly explained—stumble; but Palsgrave makes a distinction between the words: “I Snapper as a horse dothe that tryppeth, Ie trippette. My horse dyd nat stumble he dyd but snapper a lytell, Mon cheual ne choppyt poynt il ne fit que tripetter vng petit.” Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccclxv. (Table of Verbes.)—Compare the following lines;

Page 15. v. 6. prendergest] A word (probably the origin of the surname Prendergast) which I am unable to explain.

v. 8. bayardys bun] i. e. horse-loaf, a sort of bread formerly much used for feeding horses: bayard is, properly, a bay horse.

v. 9. sumdele] i. e. somewhat.

v. 11. maunchet] Properly, a small loaf of fine white bread.

—— morell] Properly, a dark-coloured, a black horse.

v. 13. carp] Which generally means—speak, talk,—is sometimes found applied to music, and here, perhaps, is equivalent to—make a noise.

v. 14. Lo, Jak wold be a jentylman!] So in Heywood’s Dialogue;

“Iacke would be a gentleman, if he could speake French.”

Sig. D 2,—Workes, ed. 1598.

See also Ray’s Proverbs, p. 124. ed. 1768.

v. 15.

Hey, troly, loly, Ritson observes, is a chorus or burden “of vast antiquity;” see Anc. Songs, ii. 8. ed. 1829: counter; see note on title of the poem: knak, i. e. triflingly, or affectedly shew off his skill in singing about, &c. In A very mery and Pythie Commedie, called The longer thou liuest, the more foole than art, &c. Newly compiled by W. Wager, 4to. n. d. (written in the early part of Elizabeth’s reign), Moros sings, among other fragments of songs,

and in a comparatively recent drama we find;

Martin Swart, “a noble man in Germany, and in marciall feactes verye expert,” (Hall’s Chron. (Henry VII.) fol. ix. ed. 1548), headed the auxiliaries sent by the Duchess of Burgundy with Lambert Simnel, and fell, fighting with great valour, at the battle of Stoke.

Page 15. v. 19. pohen] i. e. pea-hen.

Page 16. v. 21. An holy water clarke] Aquæbajulus; an office generally mentioned with contempt.

v. 23. solfyth to haute] i. e. solfas too haughtily,—highly.

v. 25. to sharp is hys my] “The syllable Mi used in solmisation.” Hawkins’s Hist. of Music, iii. 41.

v. 26. pyrdewy] Compare Hycke Scorner;

and Colkelbie Sow;

v. 27. besy] i. e. busy.

v. 29. a lewde lewte] i. e. a vile lute.

—— Roty bully joyse] “The initial words of some old song.” Hawkins’s Hist. of Music, iii. 41.—In our author’s Magnyfycence, Courtly Abusyon exclaims,

Perhaps the same air is alluded to in Colkelbie Sow;

v. 33. and he wyst] i. e. if he knew.

v. 34. sped] i. e. versed.

—— tauellys] “Tauell an instrument for a sylke woman to worke with.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxix. (Table of Subst.)

v. 36. a payre of clauycordys] i. e. a clavichord (so, formerly, an organ was called a pair of organs); of which see an engraving in Hawkins’s Hist. of Music, ii. 443.

v. 43. jet] Is explained in modern dictionaries—strut.—“I Get I vse a proude countenaunce and pace in my goyng, Ie braggue.” “I Iette with facyon and countenaunce to set forthe myselfe, Ie braggue.” “I Go a iettynye or a ryottynge, Ie raude.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fols. ccxlvi, cclxv, ccli. (Table of Verbes.)

Page 16. v. 47. dumpys] i. e. dumps.

v. 48. prycke songe] i. e. music pricked or noted down; when opposed (see v. 54) to plain song, it meant counter-point, as distinguished from mere melody.

v. 49. a larg and a long] Characters in old music: one large contained two longs, one long two breves, &c.

v. 50. iape] i. e. jest, joke.

v. 51. solayne] i. e. sullen.

Page 17. v. 53. fayne] Palsgrave gives, “I feyne in syngyng, Ie chante a basse voyx. We maye nat synge out we are to nere my lorde, but lette vs fayne this songe,” &c. Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccxxxv. (Table of Verbes.) But here, I apprehend, fayne can only mean—sing in falsetto. Our author, in The Bowge of Courte, has

v. 55. Thys docter Deuyas commensyd in a cart] So again Skelton in his Colyn Cloute,

Compare a much later writer: “What, a graue Doctor, a base Iohn Doleta the Almanack-maker, Doctor Deuse-ace and Doctor Merryman?” Nash’s Haue with you to Saffron-Walden, 1596. sig. L 3.—commensyd, i. e. who took his degree.

v. 60. ne] i. e. nor.

v. 61. wark] i. e. work, business.

v. 62. walk, and be nought!] Equivalent to—away, and a mischief on you!

v. 68. Take thys in worth] “I Take in worthe or I take in good worthe, Ie prens en gré.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccclxxxiiii. (Table of Verbes.)

v. 69. Wryten at Croydon by Crowland in the Clay] Concerning this line, the Rev. Joseph Hunter has obligingly remarked to me: “I was in hope of finding ‘Croydon by Crowland in the Clay’ by looking in Ingulphus and his Continuator, where all the places are mentioned in which the Abbey of Crowland (Croyland) had estates. No such name as Croydon appears; and as it is not in Speed’s maps, I see little chance of meeting with the place so called by Skelton. It would be a very bold emendation to read,—

‘Wryten in Hoyland by Crowland in the Clay:’

the parts of Lincolnshire in which Crowland is situated are called Holland or formerly Hoylande.”—To G. Steinman Steinman, Esq., author of the Hist. of Croydon, I am indebted for the following observations: “The passage has been a puzzle to me. The distance is very great between Crowland and Croydon in Cambridgeshire; and in Croydon in Surrey there is no such place as Crowland, though I can point out to you ‘the Clays’ there. The manor of Crouham is in the Surrey Croydon, but far away from ‘the Clays.’”

Page 18. Qd] i. e. Quod, quoth.

VPPON A DEEDMANS HED, &c.

couenable, i. e. befitting: sentence, i. e. sense, meaning. The pointing perhaps ought to be thus;—“in Englysh couenable, in sentence commendable,” &c.

v. 13. shyderyd] i. e. split, splintered.

v. 18. fell] i. e. skin.

Page 19. v. 24. mell] i. e. meddle.

v. 29.

Checkmate, the term at chess when the king is made prisoner, and the game consequently finished, is often used figuratively by our early writers. With the present lines compare the following passages:

“But she had taken suche cold for the defaute of helpe that depe draughtes of deth toke her, that nedes she must dye,” &c. Morte d’Arthur, B. viii. c. i. vol. i. 247. ed. Southey.

v. 36. brynnyng] i. e. burning.

v. 40. rew] i. e. have pity.

v. 43. shylde] i. e. shield.

v. 45. dyne] i. e. dun, dark.

v. 46. boteles bale] i. e. remediless sorrow.

v. 48. fendys blake] i. e. fiends black.

v. 54. solace] i. e. pleasure.

“WOMANHOD, WANTON, YE WANT,” &c.

Page 20. v. 4. recheles] i. e. reckless.

v. 6. draffe] i. e. refuse: in our author’s Elynour Rummyng, v. 171. vol. i. 100, it means hog-wash,—the coarse liquor, or brewers’ grains, with which swine are fed.

Page 20. v. 13. pohen] i. e. peahen.

v. 18. auayle] i. e. advantage, profit.

v. 19. shayle] Is several times used by Skelton. “Schayler that gothe awrie with his fete boytevx.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxi. (Table of Subst.) “I Shayle as a man or horse dothe that gothe croked with his legges: Ie vas eschays. It is to late to beate him for it nowe, he shal shayle as longe as he lyueth ... il yra eschays ... I Shayle with the fete, Ientretaille des pieds.” Id. fol. cccxlviii. (Table of Verbes). “A shayle with yᵉ knees togyther and the fete outwarde: A eschays.” Id. fol. ccccxxxvii. (Table of Aduerbes).

v. 20. pyggysny] “The Romans,” says Tyrwhitt, “used oculus as a term of endearment, and perhaps piggesnie, in vulgar language, only means ocellus; the eyes of that animal being remarkably small.” Note on Chaucer’s Cant. Tales, v. 3268.—In confirmation of this etymology, Todd (Johnson’s Dict. in v. Pigsney) has shewn that the word was occasionally written pigs eie.

v. 21. quyte] i. e. requite.

Page 21. v. 26. doute] i. e. fear.

v. 28. all beshrewde] i. e. altogether cursed.

v. 29. that farly swete] i. e. that strange sweet one.

v. 30. wonnes] i. e. dwells.

—— Temmys strete] i. e. Thames’ street.

DYUERS BALETTYS AND DYTIES, &c.

solacyous] i. e. pleasant, amusing.

Page 22. v. 2. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 4. hardely] i. e. boldly, with confidence.

v. 7. kepe] i. e. heed, regard, care.

v. 8.

i. e. With kissings,—with, kiss me.

v. 10. wyst] i. e. knew.

v. 11. He had forgoten all dedely syn] Compare our author’s Phyllyp Sparowe, v. 1080. vol. i. 84.

v. 13. He trusted her payment, and lost all hys pray] In the note below the text I inconsiderately queried if “pray” should be “pay.” Compare the last of Skelton’s Poems against Garnesche;

Page 22. v. 15. rowth] i. e. rough.

—— waters wan] Many passages of our early poetry might be cited where this epithet is applied to water: see note on Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 887, where a wrong reading has misled H. Tooke and Richardson.

v. 18. halsyd] i. e. embraced (round the neck).

v. 19. cought] i. e. caught.

Page 23. v. 20. lefe] i. e. dear.

—— rowtyth] i. e. snoreth.

v. 21. I wys] i. e. truly, certainly (i-wis, adv.).

v. 23. lust and lykyng] “Luste pleasure delyt ... volupté.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlvi. (Table of Subst.): lykyng; see note, p. 85. v. 8. This somewhat pleonastic expression (used again more than once by Skelton) is not uncommon in our old writers: “Allas my swete sones thenne she sayd, for your sakes I shalle lese my lykynge and lust.” Morte d’Arthur, B. xi. c. x. vol. ii. 174. ed. Southey. Nay, in the interlude of The Worlde and the Chylde, 1522, one of the characters bears the name of Lust and Lykynge.

v. 24. blowboll] “Blowbole yuroigne.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xx. (Table of Subst.).

Among the contents of MS. Rawlinson marked C. 86., Bodl. Libr., is a ludicrous poem entitled Colyne Blowbols Testament: see Sir F. Madden’s Introd. to Syr Gawayne, &c. p. lxvi.

v. 25. luggard] i. e. heavy fellow, sluggard.

v. 28. powle hachet] So again in our author’s Garlande of Laurell;

—— bleryd thyne I] (I—eye) i. e. imposed on, put a cheat on you.

Qd.] i. e. Quod, quoth.

v. 4. pastaunce] i. e. pastime.

v. 7. corage] i. e. heart.

Page 23. v. 8. fauorable] i. e. well-favoured, beautiful.

v. 11. Menolope] In a “ballade” entitled The IX. Ladies Woorthie, printed among Chaucer’s Workes, the writer, after celebrating the eighth, “Quene Semiramys,” concludes thus;

Compare Hawes;

v. 16. curtoyl] i. e. curtal.

—— set nowght by] i. e. set no value, or regard, on.

Page 24. v. 17.

morell; see note, p. 93. v. 11.—Gup and jayst are exclamations applied to horses; compare our author’s Elynour Rummyng, v. 390. vol. i. 107., and his third Poem against Garnesche, v. 13. vol. i. 120. So too in Camelles Rejoindre to Churchyarde (fol. broadside);

v. 19. corage] i. e. heart, affection, inclination.

—— haggys] I know not in what sense Skelton uses this word: so again in his Colyn Cloute;

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

v. 20. Haue in sergeaunt ferrour] i. e. Bring in sergeant farrier. “Ferrour. Ferrarius. Ferrator.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. The title sergeant belongs properly to certain of the king’s servants: so in an unpublished Liber Excerpt. Temp. Hen. vii. et Hen. viii. in the Chapter-house, Westminster;

(xix. of Hen. vii.) “Item payd to the sergeant plummer and bartram opon their indentures for grenewiche xxli.”

Page 24. v. 23. keylyth] i. e. (perhaps) cooleth—but I do not understand the passage.

v. 24. neuer a dele] i. e. not a bit.

v. 25. wrenche] “Wrenche, a wyle gauche, ruse.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxxvi. (Table of Subst.).

v. 30. dyntes] i. e. blows.

v. 31. He bresyth theyr braynpannys] i. e. He bruiseth, breaketh their skulls, heads: “Pan of the hede. Cranium.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 32. all to-brokyn] A writer in the new ed. of Boucher’s Gloss. (in v. All) justly observes that it is a mistake to suppose that in such expressions all is coupled with to, and that it becomes equivalent to omnino from being thus conjoined. The augmentative to is connected with the following word as a prefix, and often occurs without being preceded by all: so in our author’s Bowge of Courte,

—— clappys] i. e. strokes.

v. 33. to lepe the hach] i. e. to run away:—(hatch—the fastened half or part of the door, the half-door).

v. 34. By theyr conusaunce knowing how they serue a wily py] Conusaunce is cognizance,—a badge worn by servants; py is magpie: there seems to be some allusion to armorial bearings.

v. 36. It can be no counsell that is cryed at the cros] i. e. It can be no secret that is proclaimed at the market-place.

v. 38. furst] i. e. first.

—— los] May mean loss, but, rather, it would seem, “Loos or bad name. Infamia.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 39. warke] i. e. work.

Qd] i. e. Quod, quoth.

Page 25. v. 3. Corage wyth lust] See notes, p. 98. v. 23., p. 99. v. 19: but the whole stanza is very obscure.

v. 7. surmountyng] i. e. surpassing.

v. 8. Allectuary] i. e. Electuary.

—— arrectyd] i. e. perhaps, considered sovereign; to arrect is to impute: or it may simply mean—raised up; our author’s Garlande of Laurell begins

—— redres] i. e. relieve, remedy.

v. 9. axys] i. e. fits, paroxysms.

In some parts of England and Scotland access is still used to denote the ague.—Lest any reader should think this note unnecessarily long, I may observe that in two recently published works the word “axes” is erroneously explained,—aches.

Page 25. v. 10. Of thoughtfull hertys plungyd in dystres] Skelton borrowed this line from Lydgate, whose Lyf of our Lady begins

In the Bibl. Poet. p. 82, Ritson gives these words as the commencement of a poem by Lydgate, Cott. Ap. viii., not knowing that this reference is to a MS. of the Lyf of our Lady.—Thoughtfull is anxious, heavy, sad.

v. 13. Herber] Warton appears to limit the signification of this word in old poetry to “an herbary for furnishing domestic medicines,” which, says he, “always made a part of our ancient gardens;” note on Hist. of E. P. ii. 231. ed. 4to. But Jamieson observes, that it would seem to be used for arbour by James I., Kings Quair, ii. 12, 13., and in the romance of Sir Egeir, v. 356. Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. (in v. Herbere). See also The Flower and the Leaf, and The Complaint of the Black Knight, by Chaucer.

v. 14. lusty somer] i. e. pleasant summer.

v. 16. ruddys] i. e. ruddy tints of the cheek, complexion.

v. 17. Saphyre of sadnes]—sadnes, i. e. steadiness, constancy:

—— enuayned with indy blew] enuayned, i. e. enveined. “Inde. Fr., Azure-coloured.” Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales. “Inde, ynde: couleur de bleu foncé, d’azur, indicum.” Roquefort’s Gloss. de la Lang. Rom. So again our author in his Magnyfycence;

See too his Garlande of Laurell, v. 478. vol. i. 381. Compare Hawes;

and Nevil, son of Lord Latimer, in a poem of great rarity;

Chaucer has

(monstrously explained in Urry’s ed. “Indian and Persian”): and Lydgate,

Sir John Mandeville says that the beak of the Phœnix “is coloured blew as ynde.” Voiage and Travaile, &c., p. 58. ed. 1725.

Page 25. v. 20. Geyne] i. e. Against.

Emeraud (emerald) and smaragd are generally considered as synonymous; but here Skelton makes a distinction between them. So too Drayton in his Muses Elizium, 1630. p. 78; and Chamberlayne in his Pharonnida, 1659. B. ii. c. 4. p. 150. And so R. Holme: “The Emrauld is green.”—“The Smaradge is of an excellent fresh green, far passing any Leaf.” Ac. of Armory, 1688. B. ii. pp. 39, 41. James I. in his Quair mentions

v. 22. perspectyue] Which generally signifies a glass to look through, seems here, from the context, to mean some sort of reflecting glass.

v. 23. Illumynyd] i. e. Adorned.

v. 26. Gayne] i. e. Against.

Page 25. v. 29. Remorse] Means commonly in early writers,—pity; but that sense is unsuited to the present passage: it seems to be used here for—remembrance, recollection.

—— most goodlyhod] i. e. perfect goodness.

v. 33. praty] i. e. pretty.

Page 26. v. 40. mastres] i. e. mistress.

v. 41. nys] i. e. ne is—is not.

v. 43. more desyrous] i. e. more desirable.

Qd] i. e. Quod, quoth.

v. 11. rede] i. e. advise.

v. 12. fals poynt] “This fals poynt ... Hæc fraus.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. s viii. ed. 1530.

v. 13. fell] i. e. skin.

Page 27. v. 15. lesard] In the Latin above, the corresponding word is anguis: long after Skelton’s time, the poor harmless lizard was reckoned venomous; so in Shakespeare’s Third Part of Henry VI., act ii. sc. 2., “lizards’ dreadful stings.”

v. 1. rasyd] i. e. torn, wounded. Skelton in his Woffully Araid has

v. 3. vaynys i. e. veins.

—— blo] i. e. livid. “Blo, blewe and grene coloured, as ones body is after a drie stroke, iaunastre.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxxxiiii. (Table of Adiect.).

v. 5. ouerthwart] i. e. cross, perverse, adverse.

v. 7. dyscure] i. e. discover.

MANERLY MARGERY MYLK AND ALE.

Skelton mentions this piece among his works, in the Garlande of Laurell, v. 1198. vol. i. 409. Sir John Hawkins, who printed it together with the music, says that it “appears to have been set by William Cornish of the Chapel Royal in the reign of Henry vii.” Hist. of Music, iii. 2.

Page 28. v. 1. besherewe yow] i. e. curse you,—confound you!

—— be my fay] i. e. by my faith.

v. 2. This wanton clarkes be nyse all way] i. e. These wanton scholars be always foolish, inclined to folly, to toyish tricks: compare our author’s Phyllyp Sparowe;

Page 28. v. 3. Avent] i. e. Avaunt.

—— popagay] i. e. parrot.

v. 5. Tully valy] Or Tilly vally—an exclamation of contempt, the origin of which is doubtful.

v. 6. Gup] See note, p. 99. v. 17.

—— Cristian Clowte] Compare our author’s Colyn Cloute;

—— Jak of the vale] So our author in his Magnyfycence; “some iangelynge Jacke of the vale,” v. 260. vol. i. 234. Compare two pieces of a much later date;

v. 8. Be] i. e. By.

—— praty pode]—praty, i. e. pretty: pode, i. e., perhaps, toad. Compare Roy’s satire, Rede me, and be nott wrothe, &c.;

v. 10. Strawe, Jamys foder, ye play the fode] The meaning of Jamys foder,—and whether “fode” is used here in the sense of—deceiver, one who feeds another with words (compare our author’s Magnyfycence, v. 1719. vol. i. 281.),—I must leave the reader to determine.

v. 12. bole] i. e. (I suppose) bull.

v. 15. I wiss] i. e. truly, certainly (i-wis, adv.).

v. 17. piggesnye] See note, p. 97. v. 20.

v. 19. Be] i. e. By.

—— hardely] i. e. assuredly.

v. 20. japed bodely] See Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cclxv. (Table of Verbes); Puttenham’s Arte of English Poesie, B. iii. c. xxii. p. 212. ed. 1589; and the Prologue to the anonymous old play, Grim the Collier of Croydon.

Page 29. v. 27. thought] i. e. sadness, grief: see note, p. 101. v. 10.

THE BOWGE OF COURTE.

“It is a bouge of courte. Ceremonia aulica est.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. s iii. ed. 1530. “Bouche à Court. Budge-a-Court, diet allowed at Court.” Cotgrave’s Dict. “The Kings Archers ... had Bouch of Court (to wit, Meat and Drink) and great Wages of six Pence by the Day.” Stow’s Survey, B. vi. 49. ed. 1720.

“The poem called the Bouge of Court, or the Rewards of a Court, is in the manner of a pageaunt, consisting of seven personifications. Here our author, in adopting the more grave and stately movement of the seven lined stanza, has shewn himself not always incapable of exhibiting allegorical imagery with spirit and dignity. But his comic vein predominates.” Warton’s Hist. of E. P., ii. 347. ed. 4to.

“Bouge of court, a corruption of bouche, Fr. An allowance of meat and drink for the tables of the inferior officers, and others who were occasionally called to serve and entertain the court. Skelton has a kind of little drama called Bouge of Court, from the name of the ship in which the dialogue takes place. It is a very severe satire, full of strong painting, and excellent poetry. The courtiers of Harry must have winced at it.” Gifford, note on Ben Jonson’s Works, vii. 428.

Page 30. v. 7. to werre hym dyde dres] i. e. did address, apply himself to war.

v. 15. rede] i. e. conceive, consider.

Page 31. v. 17. aforce] i. e. attempt.

v. 18. dyscure] i. e. discover.

v. 20. illumyne] i. e. embellish a subject.

v. 21. Auysynge] i. e. Advising.

v. 22. he so] i. e. who so.

v. 23. connynge] i. e. knowledge.

v. 30. ne wyste] i. e. knew not.

v. 31. sore enwered]—enwered means simply—wearied. Richardson (Dict. in v. En) observes that “Skelton appears to have wantoned in such compounds.”

v. 33. I me dreste] i. e. I addressed, applied myself.

v. 36.

Of this passage Mr. Wordsworth has a recollection in one of his noble Sonnets;

Page 31. v. 39. kyste] i. e. cast.

v. 40. what she had lode] i. e. what she had been freighted with.

Page 32. v. 44. prece] i. e. press,—the throng.

v. 49. hyghte] i. e. is called.

v. 50. estate] i. e. high rank, dignity.

v. 54. chaffre] i. e. merchandise.

v. 58. traues] Means here a sort of low curtain or screen.—Hall, describing the preparations for combat between the Dukes of Hereford and Norfolk, tells us that the former, having entered the lists, “set hym doune in a chayer of grene veluet whiche was set in a trauers of grene and blewe veluet,” &c.; and that the latter “satte doune in his chayer whiche was Crimosen Veluet, cortened [curtained] aboute with white and redde Damaske.” Chron. (Henry IV.) fol. iii. ed. 1548.—At a later period, curtains, which were used on the stage as substitutes for scenes, were called traverses. See also Singer’s note on Cavendish’s Life of Wolsey, p. 167. ed. 1827, and Sir H. Nicolas’s note on Privy Purse Expenses of Elizabeth of York, p. 259.

v. 60. trone] i. e. throne.

v. 61. spere] i. e. sphere.

v. 63. connynge] i. e. knowledge,—skill.

Page 33. v. 71. prese] i. e. press.

v. 72. she trowed that I had eten sause] Compare our author’s Magnyfycence;

v. 78. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 80. glome] i. e. glum,—sullen look, frown.

v. 82. daynnously] i. e. disdainfully.

—— fro me she dyde fare] i. e. from me she did go.

v. 83. mased] i. e. amazed, confounded.

v. 87. Abasshe you not] i. e. Be not abashed.

—— hardely] i. e. confidently.

v. 88. Auaunce] i. e. Advance.

v. 89. chaffer] i. e. merchandise.

v. 90. I auyse you to speke, for ony drede] i. e. I advise you to speak, notwithstanding any dread you may feel. Compare Lydgate;

Page 33. v. 92. quod] i. e. quoth.

Page 34. v. 94. And this an other] i. e. And this is another reason.

v. 95. not worth a bene] Bene (bean) is frequently used by our early poets to express any thing worthless:

v. 96. lene] i. e. lend, furnish with.

v. 100. cheuysaunce] i. e. achievement,—profit, gain.

v. 101. nys] i. e. ne is,—is not.

v. 106. werne] i. e. warn.

v. 107. styreth] i. e. steereth, directeth.

v. 108. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 114. luste] i. e. pleasure, liking.

Page 35. v. 117. casseth] “Casser ... to casse, cassere, discharge, turne out of service, deprive of entertainment.” Cotgrave’s Dict.

v. 120. route] i. e. company, crowd.

v. 122. thronge] i. e. thronged.

v. 134. Fauell] Our author in his Magnyfycence has,

Some readers need not be told how Fauel figures in Pierce Plowman. Ritson (An. Pop. Poetry, p. 77) explains the word by deceit, referring to the present passage of The Bowge of Courte; but Mason (note on Hoccleve’s Poems, p. 42) observes that here “Favel and Disceyte are distinct personages, though the latter (for the sake of rhyme,) is first called Subtylte,” and considers that Carpentier, in his Sup. to Du Cange, gives the truest explanation of Favel by Cajolerie. See also Supplement to Roquefort’s Gloss. de la Lang. Rom. in v. Favelle. The origin of the word, after all that has been written on it, seems still uncertain.

v. 137. Mysdempte] i. e. Misdeemed.

v. 138. Haruy Hafter] Eds., as already noticed, have “Haruy Haster;” and in the fourth of Skelton’s Poems against Garnesche, v. 164. vol. i. 131, the MS. gives the name with the same error. Compare our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte;

and his Magnyfycence;

The sense in which Skelton employs these words is fully illustrated by the following passages of Hormanni Vulgaria, ed. 1530: “This was a subtyle and an haftynge poynt. Astus fuit, et versatilis ingenii argumentum. He is a hafter of kynde. Est versutiæ ingenitæ homo.” sig. N vi. “A flaterynge hafter is soone espyed of a wyse man. Sedulus captator,” &c. sig. O ii. “There is nothynge more set by nowe than subtyle hafters ... callidis.” sig. O iii. “There is an haftynge poynt, or a false subtylte. Stellionatus crimen est.” sig. n iiii. “—— haftynge ... dolus malus.” sig. s viii.

Page 35. v. 138. male] i. e. bag, wallet, pouch.

Page 36. v. 143. auaunce] i. e. advance.

v. 144. solace] i. e. sport.

v. 149. connynge] i. e. knowledge.

v. 150. Deynte to haue with vs suche one in store] In Chaucer’s Clerkes Tale, v. 8988, Tyrwhitt explains (and rightly, I believe) “it was deintee”—it was a valuable thing. But both in the present passage, and in a subsequent stanza of the same poem—

“deynte” seems to be equivalent to—pleasure: compare

v. 154. it is surmountynge] i. e. it is surpassing, it excels.

v. 155. ony i. e. any.

Page 37. v. 173. lewde cok wattes]—lewde, i. e. ignorant, vile. Compare our author’s third copy of verses Against venemous tongues;

and his Magnyfycence;

Is cock wat only another form of cockward, i. e. cuckold? See Arthur and the King of Cornwall, p. 279,—Syr Gawayne, &c., edited by Sir F. Madden.

Page 37. v. 174. hardely] i. e. assuredly.

v. 175. but no worde that I sayde] i. e. but mention not a word that I said.

v. 180. reboke] i. e. belch, cast up.

v. 181. at a brayde] i. e. at a start, at a turn, on a sudden, forthwith.

v. 183. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 184. lete] i. e. hinder.

v. 186. Twyst] i. e. Tush.

—— ne reke] i. e. reck not.

v. 187. a soleyne freke]—soleyne, i. e. sullen: freke is here equivalent to—fellow. See Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v. Freik, for the various senses in which the word was used.

v. 189. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 191. whom and ha] i. e. hum and ha.

v. 193. quoke] i. e. quaked.

Page 38. v. 198. commaunde] i. e. communed, conversed.

—— party space] May mean—a short space; but (as I have noticed ad loc.) “party” is probably a misprint for “praty” (pretty).

v. 199. auowe] i. e. vow.

v. 210. auyse] i. e. advice.

v. 215. shryue me] i. e. confess myself, tell my mind.

v. 216. plenarely] i. e. fully.

v. 219. dyscure] i. e. discover.

v. 221. with all my besy cure] i. e. with all my busy care,—a common expression in our early poetry.

Page 39. v. 225. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 226. all and some] Another expression frequently used by our early poets. “All and some: Tout entierement.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxlviii. (Table of Aduerbes).

v. 228. he wolde be come] i. e. he would go.

v. 231. lyghte as lynde] So in Annunciacio;

and in Chaucer’s Clerkes Tale;

Lynde is properly the linden or lime-tree,—used for a tree in general.

Page 39. v. 232. a versynge boxe] Does it mean—a dice-box?

v. 233. fayne] See note, p. 95. v. 53.

v. 234. foxe] i. e. fox-skin.

v. 235. Sythe I am no thynge playne] i. e. Since I, &c.—the commencement of some song.

v. 236. pykynge] i. e. picking, stealing.

—— payne] i. e. difficulty.

v. 239. sadde] i. e. grave, serious.

v. 243. auowe] See note on v. 199.

v. 245. and ye wolde it reherse] i. e. if you would recite it.

Page 40. v. 252. Heue and how rombelow] A chorus of high antiquity, (sung chiefly, it would seem, by sailors):

Varied thus:

Among the songs enumerated in The Complaynt of Scotland is “Sal i go vitht zou to rumbelo fayr,” p. 101. ed. Leyden: and in Hycke Scorner mention is made of

Page 40. v. 252. row the bote, Norman, rowe!] A fragment of an old song, the origin of which is thus recorded by Fabyan: “In this. xxxii. yere [of King Henry the Sixth] Jhon Norman foresaid, vpon the morowe of Simon and Judes daie, thaccustomed day when the newe Maior vsed yerely to ride with greate pompe vnto westminster to take his charge, this Maior firste of all Maiors brake that auncient and olde continued custome, and was rowed thither by water, for the whiche yᵉ Watermen made of hym a roundell or song to his greate praise, the whiche began: Rowe the bote Norman, rowe to thy lemman, and so forth with a long processe.” Chron. vol. ii. fol. 457. ed. 1559.

v. 253. Prynces of yougthe can ye synge by rote?] The meaning of this line seems to be—Can you sing by rote the song beginning, Princess of youth? Skelton, in his Garlande of Laurell, calls Lady Anne Dakers

Page 40. v. 254. Or shall I sayle wyth you a felashyp assaye] i. e., I suppose,—Or try, of good fellowship, (or, perhaps, together with me,) the song which commences Shall I sail with you? Compare the quotation from The Complaynt of Scotland in preceding page.

v. 259. bobbe me on the noll] i. e. beat me on the head.

v. 261. connynge] i. e. knowledge.

v. 262. gete] i. e. got.

v. 269. wyste] i. e. knew.

v. 275. vnneth] i. e. scarcely, not without difficulty.

Page 41. v. 276. But I requyre you no worde that I saye] i. e. But I beg you not to mention a word of what I say.

v. 277. ony] i. e. any.

v. 278. agayne you] i. e. against you, to your disadvantage.

—— wetynge] i. e. knowledge, intelligence.

v. 283. wonderly besene] i. e. of strange appearance, or array. “Well bysene: Bien accoustré.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxlvi. (Table of Aduerbes).

v. 284. hawte] i. e. haughty.

v. 285. scornnys] i. e. scorns.

v. 286. hode] i. e. hood.

v. 287. by Cockes blode] i. e. by God’s blood (Cock a corruption of God). “The Host’s oath in Lydgate,” says Warton, note on Hist. of E. P., ii. 349. ed. 4to. It occurs often in other writers.

v. 288. bote] i. e. bit.

v. 289. His face was belymmed, as byes had him stounge] i. e. His face was disfigured, as if bees had stung him.—In a fragment of Lydgate’s Fall of Prynces, MS. Harl. 2251. fol. 97, we find

where Wayland’s ed. (B. ii. leaf li.) has “a Bee.”

v. 290. jape] i. e. jest, joke.

Page 41. v. 294. this comerous crabes hyghte] i. e. (I suppose) this troublesome crab was called.—Warton (Hist. of E. P. ii. 350) cites, without the authority of any ed., “—— crab is hyghte.”

v. 297. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 298. euyll apayed] i. e. ill satisfied, ill pleased.

v. 301. Dawes] Equivalent to—simpleton; the daw being reckoned a silly bird: so again, in the next line but one, “doctour Dawcocke.”

Page 42. v. 302. in conceyte] i. e. in the good opinion, favour of our Lady Fortune: compare v. 270.

v. 303. hyghte] i. e. is called.

v. 304. sleyte] i. e. sleight, artful contrivance.

v. 311. layne] i. e. conceal.

v. 312. beyte] i. e. bait.

v. 315. And soo outface hym with a carde of ten] “A common phrase,” says Nares, “which we may suppose to have been derived from some game, (possibly primero), wherein the standing boldly upon a ten was often successful. A card of ten meant a tenth card, a ten.... I conceive the force of the phrase to have expressed originally the confidence or impudence of one who with a ten, as at brag, faced, or outfaced one who had really a faced card against him. To face meant, as it still does, to bully, to attack by impudence of face.” Gloss. in v. Face it, &c. “The phrase of a card of ten was possibly derived, by a jocular allusion, from that of a hart of ten, in hunting, which meant a full grown deer, one past six years of age.” Ibid. in v. Card of ten.

v. 316. assawte] i. e. assault.

v. 317. meuyd all in moode] i. e. moved all in anger.

v. 318. fawte] i. e. fault.

v. 320. I wende he had be woode] i. e. I thought he had been mad.

v. 327. hayne] i. e. (perhaps) hind, slave, peasant.

v. 329. suche maysters to playe] i. e. to play such pranks of assumed superiority. Compare v. 341. See Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v. Maistryss.

Page 43. v. 330. I am of countenaunce] i. e. perhaps, I am a person of credit, good means, consequence (see Gifford’s note on B. Jonson’s Works, ii. 111).

v. 332. dyspleasaunce] i. e. displeasure.

v. 334. no force] i. e. no matter.

v. 336. auenture] i. e. adventure.

v. 337. dreuyll] i. e. drudge, low fellow. “Dryuyll seruaunt.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499; and see also Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. in v. Drivel.

Page 43. v. 338. have deynte] See note on v. 150. p. 108.

v. 340. Well, ones thou shalte be chermed, I wus] i. e. Well, one time or other thou shalt be charmed (quelled, as if by a charm), certainly (I wus—i-wis, adv.).

v. 344. Ryotte] “Is forcibly and humorously pictured.” Warton, Hist. of E. P. ii. 348. ed. 4to.

v. 345. A rusty gallande, to-ragged and to-rente] i. e. A shabby gallant, utterly ragged and tattered: see note on v. 32. p. 100.

v. 346. bones] i. e. dice.

v. 348. by saynte Thomas of Kente] i. e. by saint Thomas a Becket:

The picture of Ryotte in the present passage and in v. 389 sqq. gave birth no doubt to the following lines in a poem called Syrs spare your good;

I quote from Brit. Bibliog. ii. 371, where are extracts from an ed. of the poem printed by Kytson, n. d.: it originally appeared from the press of W. de Worde; see Cens. Liter. i. 55. sec. ed.

v. 349. kyst I wote nere what] i. e. cast I know never (not) what.

v. 350. His here was growen thorowe oute his hat] i. e. His hair, &c. Compare Barclay’s Argument of the first Egloge;

and Heywood’s Dialogue;

Ray gives, “His hair grows through his hood. He is very poor, his hood is full of holes.” Proverbs, p. 57. ed. 1768.

Page 43. v. 351. how he dysgysed was] i. e. what a wretched plight he was in:

v. 352. watchynge ouer nyghte] i. e. over-night’s debauch:

v. 354. ne couer myghte] i. e. might not cover.

v. 355. he wente so all for somer lyghte]—somer, i. e. summer.

Compare;

See too Bale’s Kyng Iohan, p. 34. ed. Camd. Soc.; and our author’s Phyllyp Sparowe, v. 719. vol. i. 73.

v. 356. His hose was garded wyth a lyste of grene] i. e. his breeches were faced, trimmed with, &c. “There was an affectation of smartness in the trimming of his hose.” Warton, note on Hist. of E. P. ii. 348. ed. 4to.

Page 44. v. 359. Of Kyrkeby Kendall was his shorte demye] Kendal, or Kirkby in Kendal, was early famous for the manufacture of cloth of various colours, particularly green. Here the word “Kendall” seems equivalent to—green: so too in Hall’s Chronicle, where we are told that Henry the Eighth, with a party of noblemen, “came sodainly in a mornyng into the Quenes Chambre, all appareled in shorte cotes of Kentishe Kendal ... like outlawes, or Robyn Hodes men.” (Henry viii.) fol. vi. ed. 1548.—demye; i. e., says Warton, note on Hist. of E. P. ii. 348. ed. 4to., “doublet, jacket:” rather, I believe, some sort of close vest,—his “cote” having been mentioned in the preceding line.

v. 360. In fayth, decon thou crewe] The commencement of some song; quoted again by our author in A deuoute trentale for old Iohn Clarke, v. 44. vol. i. 170, and in Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 63. vol. ii. 28.

v. 361. he ware his gere so nye] i. e., I suppose, he wore his clothes so near, so thoroughly. But Warton explains it “his coat-sleeve was so short.” Note on Hist. of E. P. ii. 348. ed. 4to.

v. 363. whynarde] i. e. a sort of hanger, sword.

Page 44. v. 363.

—ony crowche, i. e. any piece of money,—many coins being marked with a cross on one side. “The devil might dance in his purse without meeting with a single sixpence.” Warton, note on Hist. of E. P. ii. 348. ed. 4to. So in Massinger’s Bashful Lover;

v. 365. Counter he coude O lux vpon a potte]—Counter; see note, p. 92:—i. e. he could sing O lux, playing an accompaniment to his voice on a drinking-pot. O lux beata Trinitas was an ancient hymn, “which,” says Hawkins, “seems to have been a very popular melody before the time of King Henry viii.” Hist. of Music, ii. 354. In a comedy by the Duke of Newcastle is a somewhat similar passage: “I danced a Jig, while Tom Brutish whistled and play’d upon the head of a pint pot.” The Humorous Lovers, 1677, act i. sc. 1. p. 5.

v. 366. eestryche fedder] i. e. ostrich-feather.

v. 367. fresshely i. e. smartly.

v. 368. What reuell route] Compare;

—— quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 370. Felyce fetewse]—Felyce, i. e. Phillis: fetewse, i. e. feateous; “Fetyce and prety. Paruiculus. Elegantulus.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 371. klycked] i. e. fastened. In Chaucer’s Marchantes Tale, v. 9991. ed. Tyr., “clicket” means a key. Todd (Johnson’s Dict. in v.) cites Cotgrave and Skinner for its having the signification of the ring, knocker, or hammer of a door. Richardson (Dict. in v.) remarks that the word was “applied to any fastening which was accompanied by a clicking, snapping noise.”

v. 372. rebaudrye] i. e. ribaldry.

v. 375. in the deuylles date] An exclamation several times used by Skelton.—In Pierce Plowman, a charter, which is read at the proposed marriage of Mede, is sealed “in the date of the deuil,” sig. C i. ed. 1561.

v. 378. auowe] i. e. vow: see note on v. 199. p. 109.

Page 44. v. 380. done] i. e. do.

v. 382. wake] See note on v. 352. p. 115.

—— none] i. e. noon.

v. 383. mone] i. e. moon.

Page 45. v. 386. Plucke vp thyne herte vpon a mery pyne] “Vpon a mery pynne: De hayt, as Il a le cueur de hayt.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxlvi. (Table of Aduerbes). The expression occurs often in our early poetry; and is found even in one of Wycherley’s comedies.

v. 387. And lete vs laugh a placke or tweyne at nale]—“plucke,” as I have observed ad loc., seems to be the right reading, though the word occurs in the preceding line: compare Thersytes, n. d.

and a song quoted in the note on our author’s Magnyfycence, v. 757;

at nale, (atten ale, at then ale; see Price’s note, Warton’s Hist. of E. P. ii. 501. ed. 1824), i. e. at the ale-house.

v. 389. of dyce a bale] i. e. a pair of dice.

v. 390. A brydelynge caste] An expression which I am unable to explain. It occurs (but applied to drinking) in Beaumont and Fletcher’s Scornful Lady;

—— male] i. e. bag, wallet, pouch.

v. 391. burde] i. e. board.

v. 393. the dosen browne] Is used sometimes to signify thirteen; as in a rare piece entitled A Brown Dozen of Drunkards, &c., 1648. 4to., who are thirteen in number. But in our text “the dosen browne” seems merely to mean the full dozen: so in a tract (Letter from a Spy at Oxford) cited by Grey in his notes on Hudibras, vol. ii. 375; “and this was the twelfth Conquest, which made up the Conqueror’s brown Dozen in Number, compared to the twelve Labours of Hercules.”

v. 394. pas] Seems here to be equivalent to—stake; but I have not found pass used with that meaning in any works on gaming. See The Compleat Gamester, p. 119. ed. 1680.

v. 397. in my pouche a buckell I haue founde] So in our author’s Magnyfycence, after Foly and Fansy have exchanged purses, the latter says

Page 45. v. 398. The armes of Calyce] In our author’s Magnyfycence is the same exclamation;

Whether Calais in France, or Cales (Cadiz) be alluded to, I know not.

—— crosse] See note on v. 363. p. 116.

v. 399. renne] i. e. run.

v. 401. To wete yf Malkyn, my lemman, haue gete oughte] i. e. To know if Malkin, my mistress, has got aught:—whether Malkin is the diminutive of Mal (Mary) has been disputed.

v. 406. Bordews] i. e. Bordeaux.

v. 408. auenture] i. e. adventure.

v. 411. curtel] i. e. curtal.

v. 412. lege] i. e. allege.

v. 413. haue here is myne hat to plege] Marshe’s ed., as I have noticed ad loc., omits “is:” but compare our author’s Elynour Rummyng;

“Haue. i. take the this torne or thredebare garment.” Palsgrave’s Acolastus, 1540. sig. U ii.

Page 46. v. 414. rybaude] i. e. ribald.

v. 418. kyste] i. e. cast.

v. 420. sadde] i. e. serious, earnest.

v. 423. stede] i. e. place.

v. 425. Me passynge sore myne herte than gan agryse] For the reading of all the eds. “aryse,” I have ventured to substitute “agryse,” i. e. cause to shudder. Compare;

v. 426. I dempte and drede] i. e. I deemed and dreaded.

v. 428. Than in his hode, &c.]—hode, i. e. hood.—This passage is quoted by Warton, who observes, “There is also merit in the delineation of Dissimulation ... and it is not unlike Ariosto’s manner in imagining these allegorical personages.” Hist. of E. P. ii. 349. ed. 4to.

Page 46. v. 431. coost] i. e. coast, approach.

v. 433. I sawe a knyfe hyd in his one sleue]—sleue, i. e. sleeve.—This picture somewhat resembles that of False Semblant;

v. 434. Myscheue] i. e. Mischief.

v. 436. spone] i. e. spoon.

v. 437. to preue a dawe] i. e. to prove, try a simpleton: see note on v. 301. p. 113.—Warton, who gives the other reading, “to preye a dawe,” explains it—to catch a silly bird. Note on Hist. of E. P. ii. 349. ed. 4to.

v. 438. wrete] i. e. writ.

Page 47. v. 440. His hode was syde, his cope was roset graye] i. e. His hood was long (or full), his cope was russet grey.

v. 445. a connynge man ne dwelle maye] i. e. a wise, a learned man may not dwell.

v. 448. that nought can] i. e. that knows nothing.

v. 454. clerke] i. e. scholar.

v. 455. in the deuylles date] See note on v. 375. p. 116.

v. 456. longe] i. e. belong.

v. 457. lewde] i. e. wicked.

v. 460. herte brennynge] i. e. heart-burning.

v. 464. It is a worlde] Equivalent to—It is a matter of wonder.

Page 48. v. 466. A man can not wote where to be come] i. e. A man cannot know whither to go: compare v. 228.

v. 467. I wys] i. e. truly, certainly (i-wis, adv.).

—— home] i. e. hum.

v. 470. frere] i. e. friar.

v. 471. agayne] i. e. against.

v. 476. shall wene be hanged by the throte] i. e. (I suppose) shall think themselves hanged, &c.

v. 477. a stoppynge oyster] Compare Heywood;

v. 477. poke] i. e. pouch.

v. 484. teder] i. e. toder, t’other.

v. 486. dreuyll] See note on v. 337, p. 113.

Page 48. v. 488. on flote] i. e. flowing, full.

v. 490. hode] i. e. hood.

v. 491. but what this is ynowe] i. e. but that this is enough.

Page 49. v. 502. Sterte] i. e. Started.

v. 504. nobles] i. e. the gold coins so called.

v. 508. His hode all pounsed and garded]—hode, i. e. hood: pounsed, i. e. perforated, having small holes stamped or worked in it, by way of ornament—garded, i. e. adorned with gards, facings.

v. 510. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 513. rounde] i. e. whisper,—or, rather, mutter, for Skelton (Garlande of Laurell, v. 250. vol. i. 372) and other poets make a distinction between whisper and round:

v. 521. hafte] See note on v. 138. p. 108.

v. 522. payne] i. e. difficulty.

Page 50. v. 525. shrewes] i. e. wicked, worthless fellows.

v. 527. confetryd] i. e. confederated.

v. 528. lewde] i. e. vile, rascally.

v. 529. slee] i. e. slay.

v. 530. hente] i. e. seized.

v. 536. Syth] i. e. Since.

PHYLLYP SPAROWE

Must have been written before the end of 1508; for it is mentioned with contempt in the concluding lines of Barclay’s Ship of Fooles, which was finished in that year: see Account of Skelton and his Writings.

The Luctus in morte Passeris of Catullus no doubt suggested the present production to Skelton, who, when he calls on “all maner of byrdes” (v. 387) to join in lamenting Philip Sparow, seems also to have had an eye to Ovid’s elegy In mortem Psittaci, Amor. ii. 6. Another piece of the kind is extant among the compositions of antiquity,—the Psittacus Atedii Melioris of Statius, Silv. ii. 4. In the Amphitheatrum Sapientiæ Socraticæ Joco-seriæ, &c., of Dornavius, i. 460 sqq. may be found various Latin poems on the deaths, &c. of sparrows by writers posterior to the time of Skelton. See too Herrick’s lines Upon the death of his Sparrow, an Elegie, Hesperides, 1648. p. 117; and the verses entitled Phyllis on the death of her Sparrow, attributed to Drummond, Works, 1711. p. 50.

“Old Skelton’s ‘Philip Sparrow,’ an exquisite and original poem.” Coleridge’s Remains, ii. 163.

Page 51. v. 1. Pla ce bo, &c.] Skelton is not the only writer that has taken liberties with the Romish service-book. In Chaucer’s Court of Loue, parts of it are sung by various birds; Domine, labia by the nightingale, Venite by the eagle, &c., Workes, fol. 333. ed. 1602: in a short poem by Lydgate “dyuerse foules” are introduced singing different hymns. MS. Harl. 2251. fol. 37: and see too a poem (attributed, without any authority, to Skelton) called Armony of Byrdes, n. d., reprinted (inaccurately) in Typog. Antiq. iv. 380. ed. Dibdin; and Sir D. Lyndsay’s Complaynt of the Papingo, Works, i. 325. ed. Chalmers. In Reynard the Fox we are told that at the burial of “coppe, chanteklers doughter,”—“Tho begonne they placebo domino, with the verses that to longen,” &c. Sig. a 8. ed. 1481. Compare also the mock Requiem printed (somewhat incorrectly) from MS. Cott. Vesp. B. 16. in Ritson’s Antient Songs, i. 118. ed. 1829; Dunbar’s Dirige to the King at Stirling, Poems, i. 86. ed. Laing; and the following lines of a rare tract entitled A Commemoration or Dirige of Boner, &c., by Lemeke Auale, 1569,—

Other pieces of the kind might be pointed out.

v. 6. Wherfore and why, why?] So in the Enterlude of Kyng Daryus, 1565;

v. 7. Philip Sparowe] Philip, or Phip, was a familiar name given to a sparrow from its note being supposed to resemble that sound.

v. 8. Carowe] Was a nunnery in the suburbs of Norwich. “Here [at Norwich],” says Tanner, “was an ancient hospital or nunnery dedicated to St. Mary and St. John; to which K. Stephen having given lands and meadows without the south gate, Seyna and Leftelina two of the sisters, A.D. 1146, began the foundation of a new monastery called Kairo, Carow, or Carhou, which was dedicated to the blessed Virgin Mary, and consisted of a prioress and nine Benedictine nuns.” Not. Mon. p. 347. ed. 1744. In 1273, Pope Gregory the Tenth inhibited the Prioress and convent from receiving more nuns than their income would maintain, upon their representation that the English nobility, whom they could not resist, had obliged them to take in so many sisters that they were unable to support them. At the Dissolution the number of nuns was twelve. The site of the nunnery, within the walls, contained about ten acres. It was granted, with its chief revenues, in the 30th Henry viii. to Sir John Shelton, knight, who fitted up the parlour and hall, which were noble rooms, when he came to reside there, not long after the Dissolution. It continued in the Shelton family for several generations.

This nunnery was during many ages a place of education for the young ladies of the chief families in the diocese of Norwich, who boarded with and were taught by the nuns. The fair Jane or Johanna Scroupe of the present poem was, perhaps, a boarder at Carow.

See more concerning Carow in Dugdale’s Monast. (new ed.) iv. 68 sqq., and Blomefield’s Hist. of Norfolk, ii. 862 sqq. ed. fol.

Page 51. v. 9. Nones Blake] i. e. Black Nuns,—Benedictines.

v. 12. bederolles] i. e. lists of those to be prayed for.

Page 52. v. 24. The tearys downe hayled] So Hawes;

v. 27. Gyb our cat] Gib, a contraction of Gilbert, was a name formerly given to a male cat:

In Gammer Gurtons Nedle, 1575, “Gib our cat” is a person of consequence. Shakespeare (Henry iv. Part First, act i. sc. 2.) has the expression “gib cat;” and how his commentators have written “about it and about it” most readers are probably aware.

v. 29. Worrowyd her on that] So Dunbar;

v. 34. stounde] i. e. moment, time.

v. 35. sounde] i. e. swoon.

v. 37. Vnneth I kest myne eyes] i. e. Scarcely, not without difficulty, I cast, &c.

v. 42. Haue rewed] i. e. Have had compassion.

Page 52. v. 46. senaws] i. e. sinews.

Page 53. v. 58. frete] i. e. eat, gnaw.

v. 69. marees] i. e. waters.

v. 70. Acherontes well] i. e. Acheron’s well. So,—after the fashion of our early poets,—Skelton writes Zenophontes for Xenophon, Eneidos for Eneis, Achilliedos for Achilleis, &c.

v. 75. blo] i. e. livid: see note, p. 103. v. 3.

v. 76. mare] i. e. hag.—“Mare or witche.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 77. fende] i. e. fiend.

v. 78. edders] i. e. adders.

v. 82. sowre] In Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530, is “Sower of smellyng,” fol. xcvi. (Table of Adiect.),—a sense of the word which Skelton has elsewhere (third poem Against Garnesche, v. 146. vol. i. 124), and which therefore probably applies to the present passage. But qy. does “sowre” signify here—foul? “Sowre filthe. Fimus. Cenum. Lutum.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “Sowry or defiled in soure or filth,” &c. Id.

v. 87. outraye] “I Outray a persone (Lydgate) I do some outrage or extreme hurt to hym. Ie oultrage.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccxi. (Table of Verbes).

where Sir F. Madden explains it “injure, destroy.”—In our text, “outraye” is equivalent to—vanquish, overcome; and so in the following passages;

(Richardson, in his valuable Dictionary, v. Out-rage, &c., says that, in the stanza just cited, outray “is evidently—to exceed, to excel;” but the last line of the stanza, together with the present passage of Phyllyp Sparowe, and the annexed quotations from Lydgate, shew that he is mistaken.)

Page 54. v. 98. Zenophontes] i. e. Xenophon: see note on v. 70, preceding page.

v. 107. thought] See notes, p. 101. v. 10. p. 104. last line.

v. 114. go] i. e. gone.

v. 115. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 116. stole] i. e. stool.

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

v. 118.

Compare Gascoigne in a little poem entitled The praise of Philip Sparrow;

Sir Philip Sidney in a sonnet;

Brome in The Northern Lasse, 1632;

and in The New Academy; “But look how she turnes and keeps cut like my Sparrow. She will be my back Sweet-heart still I see, and love me behind.” Act iv. sc. 1. p. 72. (Five New Playes, 1659).

Page 55. v. 125.

So Catullus, in the beginning of his verses Ad Passerem Lesbiæ, (a distinct poem from that mentioned at p. 120);

v. 127. It was propre and prest] Compare v. 264, “As prety and as prest,” where “prety” answers to “propre” in the present line. “Proper or feate. coint, godin, gentil, mignot.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr. 1530. fol. xciii. (Table of Adiect.):—prest, which generally means—ready, seems here to be nearly synonymous with propre; and so in a passage of Tusser,—“more handsome, and prest,”—cited by Todd (Johnson’s Dict. in v.), who explains it “neat, tight.”

v. 137. gressop] i. e. grasshopper.—“Cicada ... anglice a gresse hoppe.” Ortus Vocab., fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d.

v. 138. Phyp, Phyp] See note on v. 7. p. 121.

v. 141. slo] i. e. slay.

v. 147. dome] i. e. judgment, thinking.

v. 148. Sulpicia] Lived in the age of Domitian. Her satire De corrupto statu reipub. temporibus Domitiani, præsertim cum edicto Philosophos urbe exegisset, may be found in Wernsdorf’s ed. of Poetæ Latini Minores, iii. 83.

v. 151. pas] i. e. pass, excel.

v. 154. pretende] i. e. attempt.

Page 56. v. 171. perde] i. e. par dieu, verily.

v. 173. nyse] i. e. foolish, inclined to folly, to toyish tricks: compare our author’s Manerly Margery, &c., v. 2. vol. i. 28.

v. 176. To pyke my lytell too]—too, i. e. toe.—In a comedy (already mentioned, p. 93. v. 15), The longer thou liuest, the more foole thou art, &c., n. d., by W. Wager, Moros sings

v. 186. ryde and go] A sort of pleonastic expression which repeatedly occurs in our early writers.

Page 57. v. 192. Pargame] i. e. Pergamus.

v. 198. wete] i. e. know.

v. 205. be quycke] i. e. be made alive.

Page 57. v. 211. the nones] i. e. the occasion.

v. 213. My sparow whyte as mylke] Compare Sir P. Sidney;

and Drayton;

v. 216. importe] i. e. impart.

v. 218. solas] i. e. amusement.

Page 58. v. 227. hear] i. e. hair.

v. 230. kest] i. e. cast.

v. 242. bederoule] See note on v. 12. p. 122.

v. 244. Cam, and Sem] i. e. Ham, and Shem.

v. 247. the hylles of Armony]—Armony, i. e. Armenia.—So in Processus Noe;

See also Lydgate’s Fall of Prynces, B. i. leaf iiii. ed. Wayland, and Heywood’s Foure P. P., sig. A i. ed. n. d.

v. 248.

The reading of Kele’s ed., “bordes,” (as I have already observed ad loc.) is perhaps the true one;—(compare Pierce Plowman;

and qy. did Skelton write,—

v. 253. it hyght] i. e. it is called.

Page 59. v. 264. prest] See note on v. 127, preceding page.

v. 272. hardely] i. e. assuredly.

v. 273. vengeaunce I aske and crye] Compare Magnus Herodes;

v. 281. Carowe] See note on v. 8. p. 121.

v. 282. carlyshe kynde] i. e. churlish nature.

v. 283. fynde] i. e. fiend.

Page 59. v. 284. vntwynde] i. e. tore to pieces, destroyed: so again in our author’s Garlande of Laurell;

Page 60. v. 290. Lybany] i. e. Libya.

v. 294. mantycors] “Another maner of bestes ther is in ynde that ben callyd manticora, and hath visage of a man, and thre huge grete teeth in his throte, he hath eyen lyke a ghoot and body of a lyon, tayll of a Scorpyon and voys of a serpente in suche wyse that by his swete songe he draweth to hym the peple and deuoureth them And is more delyuerer to goo than is a fowle to flee.” Caxton’s Mirrour of the world, 1480. sig. e vii. See also R. Holme’s Ac. of Armory, 1688. B. ii. p. 212.—This fabulous account is derived from Pliny.

v. 296. Melanchates, that hounde, &c.] See the story of Actæon in Ovid’s Metam.;

v. 305.

—bote, i. e. bit.—So in Syr Tryamoure;

v. 307. grypes] i. e. griffins.

v. 311. The wylde wolfe Lycaon] See Ovid’s Metam. i. 163 sqq. for an account of Lycaon, king of Arcadia, being transformed into a wolf. I ought to add, that he figures in a work well known to the readers of Skelton’s time—The Recuyel of the Historyes of Troy.

v. 313. brennynge] i. e. burning.

Page 61. v. 325. gentle of corage]—corage, i. e. heart, mind, disposition. So in our author’s Magnyfycence; “Be gentyll then of corage.” v. 2511. vol. i. 308.

v. 329. departed] i. e. parted. So in our old marriage-service; “till death us depart.”

v. 336. rew] i. e. have compassion.

v. 345.

“Cluniculum, an hole or a spayre of a womans smoke.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d. (In ed. 1514 of that work—“spayre of a womans kyrtell”). “Sparre of a gowne fente de la robe.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxvi. (Table of Subst.). “That parte of weemens claiths, sik as of their gowne or petticot, quhilk vnder the belt and before is open, commonly is called the spare.” Skene, quoted by Jamieson, Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v. Spare.——“Lacinia ... anglice a heme of clothe or a gore.” Ortus. Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d. (ed. 1514 of that work adds “or a trayne”). “Goore of a smocke poynte de chemise.” Palsgrave, ubi supra, fol. xxxvii. (Table of Subst.). Jamieson (ubi supra), in v. Gair, says it was “a stripe or triangular piece of cloth, inserted at the bottom, on each side of a shift or of a robe,”—a description which agrees with that of R. Holme, Ac. of Armory, 1688. B. iii. p. 95.

Page 61. v. 351. myne hert it sleth]—sleth, i. e. slayeth.—So Chaucer;

Page 62. v. 360. Phyppes] See note on v. 7. p. 121.

v. 361. kusse] i. e. kiss.

v. 362. musse] i. e. muzzle,—mouth.

v. 366. this] i. e. thus: see note, p. 86. v. 38.

v. 375. Gyb] See note on v. 27. p. 122.

v. 383. bederolle] See note on v. 12. p. 122.

Page 63. v. 387.

—loke, i. e. look. Compare Ovid (see note on title of this poem, p. 120);

v. 396. ianglynge] i. e. babbling, chattering—an epithet generally applied to the jay by our old poets.

v. 397. fleckyd] i. e. spotted, variegated.

v. 403. the red sparow] i. e. the reed-sparrow.

“The Red Sparrow, or Reed Sparrow.” R. Holme’s Ac. of Armory, 1688. B. ii. p. 246.

Page 63. v. 406. to] i. e. toe.

v. 407. The spynke] i. e. The chaffinch. In the Countrie Farme, the “spinke” is frequently mentioned (see pp. 886, 890, 891, 898, 900. ed. 1600); and in the French work by Estienne and Liebault, from which it is translated, the corresponding word is “pinçon:” in Cotgrave’s Dict. is “Pinson. A Spink, Chaffinch, or Sheldaple;” and in Moor’s Suffolk Words, “Spinx. The chaffinch.” R. Niccolls, in a poem which contains several pretty passages, has

v. 409. The doterell, that folyshe pek] The dotterel is said to allow itself to be caught, while it imitates the gestures of the fowler: pek, or peke, seems here to be used by Skelton in the sense of—contemptible fellow; so in his Collyn Cloute;

In Hormanni Vulgaria we find: “He is shamefast but not pekysshe. Verecundus est sine ignauia.” sig. N i. ed. 1530.—And see Todd’s Johnson’s Dict., and Richardson’s Dict. in v. Peak.

v. 411. toote] i. e. pry, peep, search.

v. 412. the snyte] i. e. the snipe.

v. 415. His playne songe to solfe] See note, p. 95, v. 48: solfe, i. e. solfa.