Note 203 — BOOK III. (continued 2)
Reading edition
This is a mistake of Dryden, who was misled by the spelling of the old English. Chaucer talks of boughs, not of bows; and says simply,
And tho that barin bowes in their hand; Of the precious lawrier so notable.
This refers to the description of the knights at their entrance, which Dryden has rightly rendered:
Some in their hands, besides the lance and shield, The bows of woodbine, or of hawthorn, held; Or branches for their mystic emblems took Of palm, of laurel, or of cerrial oak.
The bow, though the youth trained to chivalry were taught to use it, made no part of a knight's proper weapons. But it is curious how Dryden, having fallen into an error, finds out a reason for his false reading, by alleging, that the bows were borne as an emblem of strength of arm, valour, and victory. [Since this note was written, I observe, that the ingenious Dr Aikin has anticipated my observation.]