Chaucer's Works, Volume 5 — Notes to the Canterbury Tales

For him, wenden or wende was a monosyllable; and go would do just as well.

He omits the before stables; it did not matter to him. So that, instead of filling up an imperfect line, as Prof. Morley says he would be sure to do, he leaves a gap.

Tel should be tel-le. As it is, the line halts. But where is the filling up by the help of some convenient monosyllable?

I add a few more examples, from Stowe, without comment.

It is needless to proceed; it is obvious that Stowe was not the man who would care to eke out a line by filling it up with convenient monosyllables. And it is just because these old editors usually let the text alone, that the old black-letter editions still retain a certain value, and represent some lost manuscript.

§ 18. One editor, apparently Speght, actually had an inkling of the truth; but he was promptly put down by Dryden (Pref. to the Fables). 'The verse of Chaucer, I confess, is not harmonious to us; ... there is the rude sweetness of a Scotch tune in it, which is natural and pleasing, though not perfect. It is true, I cannot go so far as he who published the last edition of him; for he would make us believe the fault is in our ears, and that there were really ten syllables in a verse where we find but nine; but this error is not worth confuting; it is so gross and obvious an error^[19], that common sense (which is a rule in everything but matters of faith and revelation) must convince the reader, that equality of numbers in every verse which we call Heroic, was either not known, or not always practised in Chaucer's age. It were an easy matter to produce some thousands of verses, which are lame for want of half a foot, and sometimes a whole one, and which no pronunciation can make otherwise.' We cannot doubt that such was the prevalent opinion at that time.

§ 19. For such readers as do not wish to study the language or the grammar of Chaucer, but merely wish to read the text with some degree of comfort, and to come by the stories and their general literary expression with the least possible trouble, the Ellesmere MS. furnishes quite an ideal text. Such a reader has only to observe the following empirical rules^[20].

1. Pronounce every final e like the final a in China, except in a few very common words like wolde, sholde, were, and the like, which may be read as wold', shold', wer', unless the metre seems to demand that they should be fully pronounced. The commonest clipped words of this character are have, hadde (when a mere auxiliary), were, nere (were not), wolde, nolde (would not), thise (like mod. E. these), othere, and a few others, that are easily picked up by observation.

2. Always pronounce final -ed, -es, -en, as distinct syllables, unless it is particularly convenient to clip them. Such extra syllables, like the final -e, are especially to be preserved at the end of the line; a large number of the rimes being double (or feminine).

3. But the final -e is almost invariably elided, and other light syllables, especially -en, -er, -el, are frequently treated as being redundant, whenever the next word following begins with a vowel or is one of the words (beginning with h) in the following list, viz. he, his, him, her, hir (their), hem (them), hath, hadde, have, how, heer.

These three simple rules will go a long way. An attentive reader will thus catch the swing of the metre, and will be carried along almost mechanically. The chief obstacle to a succession of smooth lines is the jerk caused by the occasional occurrence of a line defective in the first foot, as explained above. Perhaps it may be further noted that an e sometimes occurs, as a distinct syllable, in the middle of a word as well as at the end of it. Exx.: Eng-e-lond (A. 16); wod-e-craft (A. 110); sem-e-ly (A. 136).

§ 20. We must also remember that the accentuation of many words, especially of such as are of French origin, was quite different then from what it is now. A word like 'reason' was then properly pronounced resóun (rezuun), i. e. somewhat like a modern ray-zóon; but even in Chaucer's day the habit of throwing back the accent was beginning to prevail, and there was a tendency to say réson (reezun), somewhat like a modern ráy-zun. Chaucer avails himself of this variable accent, and adopts the sound which comes in more conveniently at the moment^[21]. Thus while we find resóun (rezuun) in l. 37, in l. 274 we find résons (reezunz).

§ 21. I give a few examples of the three rules stated above.

The following words are properly dissyllabic, in the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales:—(l. 1) shou-res, so-te; (2) drogh-te, Mar-che, per-ced, ro-te; (3) ba-thed, vey-ne; (5) swe-te; (7) crop-pes, yon-ge, son-ne; (8) half-e; (9) sma-le, fow-les, ma-ken; (10) sle-pen, o-pen, y-ë; (13) straun-ge, strond-es; (14) fer-ne, hal-wes, lon-des; (15) shi-res, end-e; and so on.

In the same way, there are three syllables in (1) A-pril-le; (4) en-gend-red; (5) Zéph-i-rús; (6) In-spi-red; (8) y-ron-ne; &c. And there are four syllables in (9) mél-o-dý-ë; (12) pil-grim-á-ges.

Elision takes place of the e in drogh-te and of the e in couth-e in l. 14; of the e in nyn-e in l. 24; &c. In such cases, the words may be read as if spelt droght, couth, nyn, for convenience. There are some cases in which the scribe actually fails to write a final e, owing to such elision; but they are not common. I have noted a few in the Glossarial Index.

The final e is ignored, before a consonant, in were (59, 68, 74, 81); and even, which is not common, in hope (88) and nose (152).

As examples of accents to which we are no longer accustomed, we may notice A-príl-le (1); ver-tú (4); cor-á-ges (11); á-ven-túre (25); tó-ward (27); re-sóun (37); hon-óur (46); hon-óur-ed (50); a-ry´-ve (60); sta-tú-re (83); Cur-téys (99).

The lines were recited deliberately, with a distinct pause near the middle of each, at which no elision could take place. At this medial pause there is often a redundant syllable (as is more fully explained in vol. vi). Thus, in l. 3, the -e in veyn-e should be preserved, though modern readers are sure to ignore it. Cf. carie in l. 130; studie in l. 184; &c.

§ 22. By help of the above hints, some notion of the melody of Chaucer may be gained, even by such as adopt the modern English pronunciation. It is right, however, to bear in mind that most of the vowels had, at that time, much the same powers as in modern French and Italian; and it sometimes makes a considerable difference. Thus the word charitable in l. 143 was really pronounced more like the modern French charitable; only that the initial sound was that of the O. F. and E. ch, as in church, not that of the modern French ch in cher. For further remarks on the pronunciation, see vol. vi.

§ 23. The feeble suggestion is sometimes made that Chaucer's spelling ought to be modernised, like that of Shakespeare. This betrays a total ignorance of the history of English spelling. It is not strictly the case, that Shakespeare's spelling has been modernised; for the fact is the other way, viz. that in all that is most essential, it is the spelling of Shakespeare's time that has been adopted in modern English. The so-called 'modern' spelling is really a survival, and is sadly unfit, as we all know to our cost, for representing modern English sounds. By 'modernising,' such critics usually mean the cutting off of final e in places where it was just as little required in Elizabethan English as it is now; the freër use of 'v' and of 'j'; and so forth; nearly all of the alterations referring to unessential details. Such alterations would have been useful even in Shakespeare's time, and would not have touched the character of the spelling. But the spelling of Chaucer's time refers to quite a different age, when a large number of inflections were still in use that have since been discarded; so that it involves changes in essential and vital points. As it happens, the spelling of the Ellesmere MS. is phonetic in a very high degree. Pronounce the words as they are spelt, but with the Italian vowel-sounds and the German final e, and you come very near the truth. If this is too much trouble, pronounce the words as they are spelt, with modern English vowels (usually adding a final e, pronounced like a in China, when it is visibly present); and, even so, it is easy to follow. The alteration of a word like quene to queene does not make it any easier; and the further alteration to queen destroys its dissyllabic nature. Besides, those who want the spelling modernised can get it in Gilfillan's edition.

Surely, it is better to stick to the true old phonetic spelling. Boys at school, who have learnt Attic Greek, are supposed to be able to face the spelling of Homer without wincing, though it is not their native language; and the number of Englishwomen who are fairly familiar with Middle-English is becoming considerable.

§ 24. As regards the Notes in the present volume, it will be readily understood that I have copied them or collected them from many sources. Many of those on the Prologue and Knightes Tale were really written by Dr. Morris; but, owing to the great kindness he shewed me in allowing me to work in conjunction with him on terms of equality, I should often be hard put to it to say which they are. A large number are taken from the editions by Tyrwhitt, Wright, and Bell; but these are usually acknowledged. Others I have adopted from the various works published by the Chaucer Society; from the excellent notes by Dr. Köppell, Dr. Kölbing, and Dr. Koch that have appeared in Anglia, and in similar publications; and from Professor Lounsbury's excellent work entitled Studies in Chaucer. I have usually endeavoured to point out the sources of my information; and, if I have in several cases failed to do this, I hope it will be understood that, as Chaucer's fox said, 'I dide it in no wikke entente.' Perhaps this may seem an unlucky reference, for the fox was not speaking the strict truth, as we all know that he ought to have done. If I may take any credit for any part of the Notes, I think it may be for my endeavour to hunt up, as far as I could, a large number of the very frequent allusions to Le Roman de la Rose^[22], and to such authors as Ovid and Statius; besides undertaking the more difficult task involved in tracing out some of the mysterious references which occur in the margins of the manuscripts. For the Tale of Melibeus, I naturally derived much help and comfort from the admirable edition of Albertano's Liber Consolationis by Thor Sundby, and the careful notes made by Mätzner. As for the references in the Persones Tale, I should never have found out so many of them, but for the kind assistance of the Rev. E. Marshall. To all my predecessors in the task of annotation, and to all helpers, I beg leave to express my hearty thanks. For further remarks on this and some other subjects, see vol. vi.

As it frequently happens that it is highly desirable to be able to recover speedily the whereabouts of a note on some particular word or subject, an Index to the Notes is appended to this volume.

ERRATA IN VOL IV.

At p. xxiv of vol. iv, a list of Errata is given, many of which are of slight importance. Much use of this volume, for the purpose of illustration, has brought to my notice a few more Errata, six of which, here marked with an asterisk, are worth special notice.

VOL. V. ADDENDA, ETC.

P. 73; l. 10 from bottom. Dele comma after Thornton.

P. 119; l. 1. For l. 393 read l. 3931.

P. 262; note to C 60. Cf. Ayenbite of Inwyt, p. 205:—'Ac the greate metes and thet stronge wyn alighteth and norisseth lecherie, ase oyle other grese alighteth and strengtheth thet uer' [i. e. the fire]. This passage occurs quite close to that quoted in the note to A 4406. Probably Chaucer took both of these from the French original of the Ayenbite. Cf. p. 447.

P. 450. The note to G 1171 has been accidentally omitted, but is important. The reading should here be terved, not torned; and again, in G 1274, read terve, not torne. The Ellesmere MS. is really right in both places, though terued appears as terned in the Six-text edition. These readings are duly noted in the Errata to vol. iv, at p. xxvi. The verb terve means 'to strip,' or 'to roll back' the edge of a cuff or the like. The Bremen Wörterbuch has: 'um tarven, up tarven, den Rand von einem Kleidungstücke umschlagen, das innerste auswärts kehren.' Hence read tirueden in Havelok, 603; teruen of in the Wars of Alexander, 4114; tyrue in Allit. Poems, ed. Morris, B. 630; and tyruen in Gawain and the Grene Knight, 1921.

NOTES

TO THE

CANTERBURY TALES.

N.B. The spellings between marks of parenthesis indicate the pronunciation, according to the scheme given in the Introduction.

References to other lines in the Canterbury Tales are denoted by the Group and line. Thus 'B. 134' means Group B, l. 134, i. e. the first line in the Man of Lawes Tale.

Notes taken from editions by Tyrwhitt, Wright, Bell, and Morris, are usually marked accordingly; sometimes T. denotes Tyrwhitt, and M., Morris.

1. In the Man of Law's Prologue, B. 1-6, there is definite mention of the 18th day of April. The reference is, in that passage, to the second day of the pilgrimage. Consequently, the allusion in ll. 19-23 below is to April 16, and in l. 822 to April 17. The year may be supposed to be 1387 (vol. iii. p. 373).

'When that April, with his sweet showers.' Aprille is here masculine, like Lat. Aprilis; cf. l. 5.

shoures (shuu·rez), showers; pl. of shour, A.S. scūr (skuur). The etymology of all words of this character, which are still in use, can be found by looking out the modern form of the word in my Etymological Dictionary. I need not repeat such information here.

sote, sweet, is another form of swete, which occurs just below in l. 5. The e is not, in this case, the mark of the plural, as the forms sote, swete are dissyllabic, and take a final e in the singular also. Sote is a less correct form of swote; and the variation between the long o in swote and the long e in swete is due to confusion between the adverbial and adjectival uses. Swote corresponds to A.S. swōt, adv., sweetly, and swete to A.S. swēte, adj., sweet. The latter exhibits mutation of ō to ē; cf. mod. E. goose, pl. geese (A.S. gōs, pl. gēs).

In this Introduction, Chaucer seems to have had in his mind the passage which begins Book IV. of Guido delle Colonne's Historia Troiae, which is as follows:—'Tempus erat quo sol maturans sub obliquo zodiaci circulo cursum suum sub signo iam intrauerat Arietis ... celebratur equinoxium primi veris, tunc cum incipit tempus blandiri mortalibus in aeris serenitate intentis, tunc cum dissolutis ymbribus Zephiri flantes molliciter (sic) crispant aquas ... tunc cum ad summitates arborum et ramorum humiditates ex terre gremio examplantes extollunt in eis; quare insultant semina, crescunt segetes, virent prata, variorum colorum floribus illustrata ... tunc cum ornatur terra graminibus, cantant volucres, et in dulcis armonie modulamine citharizant. Tunc quasi medium mensis Aprilis effluxerat'; &c.

We may also note the passage in Vincent of Beauvais, Speculum Naturale, lib. xv. c. 66, entitled De Vere:—'Sol vero ad radices herbarum et arborum penetrans, humorem quem ibi coadunatum hyeme reperit, attrahit; herba vero, vel arbor suam inanitionem sentiens a terra attrahit humorem, quem ibi sui similitudine adiuuante calore Solis transmutat, sicque reuiuiscit; inde est quod quidam mensis huius temporis Aprilis dicitur, quia tunc terra praedicto modo aperitur.'

2. droght-e, dryness; A. S. drūgathe; essentially dissyllabic, but the final e is elided. Pron. (druuht'). perced, pierced, rot-e, dat. of root, a root; Icel. rōt; written for roote. The double o is not required to shew vowel-length, when a single consonant and an e follow.

4. vertu, efficacy, productive agency, vital energy. 'And bathed every vein (of the tree or herb) in such moisture, by means of which quickening power the flower is generated.' Pron. (vertü').

5. Zephirus, the zephyr, or west wind. Cf. Chaucer's Book of the Duchess, l. 402, and the note. There are two more references to Zephirus in the translation of Boethius, bk. i. met. 5; bk. ii. met. 3.

6. holt, wood, grove; A. S. holt; cf. G. Holz.

7. croppes, shoots, extremities of branches, especially towards the top of a tree; hence simply tree-tops, tops of plants, &c. Hence to crop is 'to cut the tops off.' Cf. A. 1532; tr. of Boethius, bk. iii. met. 2. 24; Rom. Rose, 1396; and note to P. Plowman, B. xvi. 69.

yonge sonne (yunggə sunnə); see the next note. The -e in yong-e denotes the definite form of the article. Sonn-e, A. S. sunna, is essentially dissyllabic.

8. the Ram. The difficulty here really resides in the expression 'his halfe cours,' which means what it says, viz. 'his half-course,' and not, as Tyrwhitt unfortunately supposed, 'half his course.' The results of the two explanations are quite different. Taking Chaucer's own expression as it stands, he tells us that, a little past the middle of April, 'the young sun has run his half-course in the Ram.' Turning to Fig. 1 in The Astrolabe (see vol. iii.), we see that, against the month 'Aprilis,' there appears in the circle of zodiacal signs, the latter half (roughly speaking) of Aries, and the former half of Taurus. Thus the sun in April runs a half-course in the Ram and a half-course in the Bull. 'The former of these was completed,' says the poet; which is as much as to say, that it was past the eleventh of April; for, in Chaucer's time, the sun entered Aries on March 12, and left that sign on April 11. See note to l. 1.

The sun had, in fact, only just completed his course through the first of the twelve signs, as the said course was supposed to begin at the vernal equinox. This is why it is called 'the yonge sonne,' an expression which Chaucer repeats under similar circumstances in the Squyeres Tale, F. 385. Y-ronne, for A. S. gerunnen, pp. of rinnan, to run (M. E. rinnen, rinne). The M. E. y-, A. S. ge-, is a mere prefix, mostly used with past participles.

9. Pron. (ənd smaa·lə fuu·lez maa·ken melodii·ə); 'and little birds make melody.' Cf. fowel (fuul), a bird, in l. 190.

10. open ye, open eye. Cf. the modern expression 'with one eye open.' This line is copied in the Sowdone of Babylon, ll. 41-46.

11. 'So nature excites them, in their feelings (instincts).' hir, their; A. S. hira, lit. 'of them,' gen. pl. of hē, he. corage (kuraa·jə); mod. E. courage; see l. 22.

12, 13. According to ordinary English construction, the verb longen must be supplied after palmers. In fact, l. 13 is parenthetical. Note that Than, in l. 12, answers to Whan in l. 1.

13. palmer, originally, one who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and brought home a palm-branch as a token. Chaucer, says Tyrwhitt, seems to consider all pilgrims to foreign parts as palmers. The essential difference between the two classes of persons here mentioned, the palmer and the pilgrim, was, that the latter had 'some dwelling-place, a palmer had none; the pilgrim travelled to some certain place, the palmer to all, and not to any one in particular; the pilgrim might go at his own charge, the palmer must profess wilful poverty; the pilgrim might give over his profession, the palmer must be constant'; Blount's Glossographia (taken from Speght). See note to P. Plowman, B. v. 523.

The fact is, that palmers did not always reach the Holy Land. They commonly went to Rome first, where not unfrequently the Pope 'allowed them to wear the palm as if they had visited Palestine'; Rock, Church of our Fathers, vol. iii. pt. 1. p. 439.

to seken, to seek; the A. S. gerund, tō sēcanne; expressive of purpose. strondes, strands, shores.

14. ferne halwes, distant saints, i. e. shrines. Here ferne = ferrene = distant, foreign. 'To ferne poeples'; Chaucer's Boethius, bk. ii. met. 7. See Mätzner's M. E. Dict. Ferne also means 'ancient,' but not here.

halwes, saints; cf. Scotch Hallow-e'en, the eve of All Hallows, or All Saints; the word is here applied to their shrines.

Chaucer has, 'to go seken halwes,' to go (on a pilgrimage) to seek saints' shrines; D. 657. couthe (kuudh'), well known; A. S. cūð, known, pp. of cunnan, to know. sondry (sun·dri), various.

16. wende, go; pret. wente, Eng. went. The use of the present tense in modern English is usually restricted to the phrase 'he wends his way.'

17. The holy blisful martir, Thomas à Becket. On pilgrimages, see Saunders, Chaucer, p. 10; and Erasmus, Peregrinatio religionis ergo. There were numerous places in England sought by pilgrims, as Durham, St. Alban's, Bury, St. David's, Glastonbury, Lincoln, York, Peterborough, Winchester, Holywell, &c.; but the chief were Canterbury and Walsingham.

18. holpen, pp. of helpen. The older preterites of this verb are heolp, help, halp. seke, sick, rimes to seke, seek; this apparent repetition is only allowed when the repeated word is used in two different senses.

seke, pl. of seek, A. S. sēoc, sick, ill. For hem, see n. to l. 175.

19. Bifel, it befell. seson (saesun), time. on a day, one day.

20. Tabard. Of this word Speght gives the following account in his Glossary to Chaucer:—'Tabard—a jaquet or sleveless coate, worne in times past by noblemen in the warres, but now only by heraults (heralds), and is called theyre "coate of armes in servise." It is the signe of an inne in Southwarke by London, within the which was the lodging of the Abbot of Hyde by Winchester. This is the hostelry where Chaucer and the other pilgrims mett together, and, with Henry Baily their hoste, accorded about the manner of their journey to Canterbury. And whereas through time it hath bin much decayed, it is now by Master J. Preston, with the Abbot's house thereto adgoyned, newly repaired, and with convenient rooms much encreased, for the receipt of many guests.' The inn is well described in Saunders (on Chaucer), p. 13. See also Stow, Survey of London (ed. Thoms, p. 154); Nares' Glossary, s. v. Tabard; Dyce's Skelton, ii. 283; Furnivall's Temporary Preface to Chaucer, p. 18.

The tabard, however, was not sleeveless, though the sleeves, at first, were very short. See the plate in Boutell's Heraldry, ed. Aveling, p. 69; cf. note to P. Plowman, C. vii. 203.

lay; used like the modern 'lodged,' or 'was stopping.'

23. come (kum'), short for comen, pp. of comen. hostelrye, a lodging, inn, house, residence. Hostler properly signifies the keeper of an inn, and not, as now, the servant of an inn who looks after the horses.

24. wel is here used like our word, full or quite.

25. by aventure y-falle, by adventure (chance) fallen (into company). Pron. (av·entü·r').

26. felawshipe, company; from M. E. felawe, companion, fellow.

27. wolden ryde, wished to ride. The latter verb is in the infinitive mood, as usual after will, would, shall, may, &c.

29. esed atte beste, accommodated or entertained in the best manner. Easement is still used as a law term, signifying accommodation. Cf. F. bien aise. Pron. (aezed).

atte, i. e. at the, was shortened from atten, masc. and neut., from A. S. æt thām. We also find M. E. atter, fem., from A. S. æt thǣre.

30. to reste, i. e. gone to rest, set.

31. everichon, for ever-ich oon, every one, lit. ever each one.

32. of hir felawshipe, (one) of their company.

33. forward, agreement. 'Fals was here foreward so forst is in May,' i. e. their agreement was as false as a frost in May; Ritson's Ancient Songs, i. 30. A. S. fore-weard, lit. 'fore ward,' a precaution, agreement.

34. ther as I yow devyse, to that place that I tell you of (sc. Canterbury); ther in M. E. frequently signifies 'where,' and ther as signifies 'where that.' devyse, speak of, describe; lit. 'devise.'

35. natheles, nevertheless; lit. 'no the less'; cf. A. S. nā, no. whyl, whilst. The form in -es (whiles, the reading of some MSS.) is a comparatively modern adverbial form, and may be compared with M. E. hennes, thennes, hence, thence; ones, twyes, thryes, once, twice, thrice; of which older forms are found in -enne and -e respectively.

37. 'It seemeth to me it is reasonable.'

Me thinketh = me thinks, where me is the dative before the impersonal vb. thinken, to appear, seem; cp. me liketh, me list, it pleases me. So the phrase if you please = if it please you, you being the dative and not the nominative case. semed me = it seemed to me, occurs in l. 39. The personal verb is properly thenken, as in the Clerkes Tale, E. 116, 641; or thenchen, as in A. 3253.

accordaunt, accordant, suitable, agreeable (to).

40. whiche, what sort of men; Lat. qualis.

41. inne. In M. E., in is the preposition, and inne the adverb.

The Knight.

43. Knight. It was a common thing in this age for knights to seek employment in foreign countries which were at war. Cf. Book of the Duchesse, 1024, and my note. Tyrwhitt cites from Leland's Itinerary, v. iii. p. cxi., the epitaph of a knight of this period, Matthew de Gourney, who had been at the battle of Benamaryn, at the siege of Algezir, and at the Battles of Crecy, Poitiers, &c. See note to l. 51.

worthy, worthy, is here used in its literal signification of distinguished, honourable. See ll. 47, 50. Pron. (wur·dhi).

For notes on the dresses, &c. of the pilgrims, see Todd's Illustrations of Chaucer, p. 227; Fairholt's Costume in England, 1885, i. 129; and Saunders, on the Canterbury Tales, where some of the MS. drawings are reproduced. Also Warton, Hist. Eng. Poetry, sect. 17.

45. chivalrye (chiv·alrii·ə), knighthood; also the manners, exercises, and exploits of a knight.

47. in his lordes werre, i. e. in the king's service. 'The knight, by his tenure, was obliged to serve the king on horseback in his wars, and maintain a soldier at his own proper charge,' &c.; Strutt, Manners and Customs, iii. 15. werre, war.

48. therto, moreover, besides that; see l. 153 below, ferre, the comp. of fer, far. Cf. M. E. derre, dearer (A. 1448); sarre, sorer, &c.

49. hethenesse, heathen lands, as distinguished from Cristendom, Christian countries. The same distinction occurs in English Gilds, ed. Toulmin Smith, p. 36, l. 1.

50. Pron. (ənd ae·vr onuu·red for iz wur·dhines·sə).

51. Alisaundre, in Egypt, 'was won, and immediately after abandoned in 1365, by Pierre de Lusignan, King of Cyprus'; Tyrwhitt. Froissart (Chron. bk. iii. c. 22) gives the epitaph of Pierre de Lusignan, king of Cyprus, who 'conquered in battle ... the cities of Alexandria in Egypt, Tripoli in Syria, Layas in Armenia, Satalia in Turkey, with several other cities and towns, from the enemies of the faith of Jesus Christ'; tr. by Johnes, vol. ii. p. 138. 'To this I may add, from "Les Tombeaux des Chevaliers du noble Ordre de la Toison d'Or," the exploits recorded on a monument also of a French knight, who lived in Chaucer's age, and died in 1449, Jean, Seigneur de Roubais, &c. "qui en son temps visita les Saints lieux de Ierusalem, ... S. Iacques en Galice, ... et passa les perils mortels de plusieurs batailles arrestées contre les Infidels, c'est a sçavoir en Hongrie et Barbarie, ... en Prusse contre les Letaux, ... avec plusieurs autres faicts exercice d'armes tant par mer que par terre,"' &c.—Todd, Illust. of Ch., p. 227. wonne (wunnə), won.

52. he hadde the bord bigonne. Here bord = board, table, so that the phrase signifies 'he had been placed at the head of the dais, or table of state.' Warton, in his Hist. of Eng. Poetry, ed. 1840, ii. 209 (ed. 1871, ii. 373), aptly cites a passage from Gower which is quite explicit as to the sense of the phrase. See Gower, Conf. Amantis, bk. viii. ed. Pauli, iii. 299. We there read that a knight was honoured by a king, by being set at the head of the middle table in the hall.

The context shews that this was at supper-time, and that the knight was placed in this honourable position by the marshal of the hall.

Further illustrations are also given by Warton, ed. 1840, i. 174, footnote, shewing that the phrases began the dese (daïs) and began the table were also in use, with the same sense. I can add another clear instance from Sir Beves of Hamptoun, ed. Kölbing, E. E. T. S., p. 104, where we find in one text (l. 2122)—

where another text has (l. 1957) the reading—

See also the New Eng. Dictionary, s. v. Board; Hartshorne's Metrical Tales, pp. 72, 73, 215, 219; Early Popular Poetry, ed. Hazlitt, i. 104; Todd's Illustrations, p. 322. Even in Stow's Survey of London, ed. Thoms, p. 144, col. 2, we read how—'On the north side of the hall certain aldermen began the board, and then followed merchants of the city.'

Another explanation is sometimes given, but it is wholly wrong.

53, 54. Pruce. When our English knights wanted employment, 'it was usual for them to go and serve in Pruce, or Prussia, with the knights of the Teutonic order, who were in a state of constant warfare with their heathen neighbours in Lettow (Lithuania), Ruce (Russia), and elsewhere.'—Tyrwhitt. Cf. Gower, Conf. Amant. ii. 56.

The larger part of Lithuania now belongs to Russia, and the remainder to Prussia; but in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the natives long maintained their independence against the Russians and Poles (Haydn, Dict. of Dates).

reysed, made a military expedition. The O. F. reise, sb., a military expedition, was in common use on the continent at that time. Numerous examples of its use are given in Godefroy's O. F. Dict. It was borrowed from O. H. G. reisa (G. Reise), an expedition. Pron. (reized).

Warton, Hist. Eng. Poetry, ed. 1840, ii. 210, remarks—'Thomas duke of Gloucester, youngest son of Edw. III, and Henry earl of Derby, afterwards Henry IV, travelled into Prussia; and, in conjunction with the grand Masters and Knights of Prussia and Livonia, fought the infidels of Lithuania. Lord Derby was greatly instrumental in taking Vilna, the capital of that country, in the year 1390. Here is a seeming compliment to some of these expeditions.' Cf. Walsingham, Hist., ed. Riley, ii. 197. Hackluyt, in his Voyages, ed. 1598, i. 122, cites and translates the passage from Walsingham referred to above. However, the present passage was written before 1390; see n. to l. 277.

In an explanation of the drawings in MS. Jul. E. 4, relating to the life of Rd. Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick (born 1381, died 1439), I find—'Here shewes how erle Richard from Venise took his wey to Russy, Lettow, and Velyn, and Cypruse, Westvale, and other coostes of Almayn toward Englond.'—Strutt, Manners and Customs.

56-8. Gernade, Granada. 'The city of Algezir was taken from the Moorish King of Granada in 1344.'—T. The earls of Derby and Salisbury assisted at the siege; Weber, Met. Rom. iii. 306. It is the modern Algeciras on the S. coast of Spain, near Cape Trafalgar.

Belmarye and Tramissene (Tremezen), l. 62, were Moorish kingdoms in Africa, as appears from a passage in Froissart (bk. iv. c. 24) cited by Tyrwhitt. Johnes' translation has—'Tunis, Bugia, Morocco, Benmarin, Tremeçen.' Cf. Kn. Tale, l. 1772 (A. 2630). Benmarin is called Balmeryne in Barbour's Bruce, xx. 393, and Belmore in the Sowdone of Babylon, 3122. The Gulf of Tremezen is on the coast of Algiers, to the west.

Lyeys, in Armenia, was taken from the Turks by Pierre de Lusignan about 1367. It is the Layas mentioned by Froissart (see note to l. 51) and the modern Ayas; see the description of it in Marco Polo, ed. Yule, i. 15. Cf. 'Laiazzo's gulf,' Hoole's tr. of Ariosto's Orlando; bk. xix. l. 389.

Satalye (Attalia, now Adalia, on the S. coast of Asia Minor) was taken by the same prince soon after 1352.—T. See Acts xiv. 25.

Palatye (Palathia, see l. 65), in Anatolia, was one of the lordships held by Christian knights after the Turkish conquest.—T. Cf. Froissart, bk. iii. c. 23.

59. the Grete See. The Great Sea denotes the Mediterranean, as distinguished from the two so-called inland seas, the Sea of Tiberias and the Dead Sea. So in Numb. xxxiv. 6, 7; Josh. i. 4; also in Mandevile's Travels, c. 7.

60. aryve, arrival or disembarkation of troops, as in the Harleian and Cambridge MSS. Many MSS. have armee, army, which gives no good sense, and probably arose from misreading the spelling ariue as arme. Perhaps the following use of rive for 'shore' may serve to illustrate this passage:—

be = ben, been. Cf. ydo = ydon, done, &c.

62. foghten (fǫuhten), pp. fought; from the strong verb fighten.

63. 'He had fought thrice in the lists in defence of our faith'; i. e. when challenged by an infidel to do so. Such combats were not uncommon. slayn, slain, hadde must be supplied from l. 61.

64. ilke, same; A. S. ylca.

65. Somtyme, once on a time; not our 'sometimes.' See l. 85.

66. another hethen, a heathen army different from that which he had encountered at Tremezen.

67. sovereyn prys (suv·rein priis), exceeding great renown.

69. 'As courteys as any mayde'; Arthur, ed. Furnivall (E. E. T. S.), l. 41. Cf. B. 1636.

70. vileinye, any utterance unbecoming a gentleman. Cf. Trench, English Past and Present, ch. 7, on the word villain.

71. no maner wight, no kind of person whatever. In M. E. the word maner is used without of, in phrases of this character.

72. verray, very, true. parfit, perfect; F. parfait. gentil, gentle; see D. 1109-1176.

74. 'His horses were good, but he himself was not gaudily dressed.' Hors is plural as well as singular. In fact, the knight had three horses; one for himself, one for his son, and one for the yeoman. Perhaps we should read—'but hé ne was not gay,' supplying ne from Hl. and Hn. This makes he emphatic; and we may then treat the e in god-e as a light extra syllable, at the caesural pause; for doing which there is ample authority.

75. fustian; see Babees Book, ed. Furnivall, p. 224. gipoun (jipuu·n), a diminutive of gipe, a tight-fitting vest, a doublet; also called a gipell, as in Libeaus Disconus, 224. See Fairholt, s. v. fustian, and s. v. gipon. The O. F. gipe (whence F. jupe) meant a kind of frock or jacket. wered is the A. S. werede, pt. t. of the weak verb werian, to wear. It is now strong; pt. t. wore. See l. 564.

76. This verse is defective in the first foot, which consists solely of the word Al. Such verses are by no means uncommon in the Cant. Tales and in the Leg. of Good Women. Pron. (al· bismut·erd widh·iz ha·berjuu·n). 'His doublet of fustian was all soiled with marks made by the habergeon which he had so lately worn over it.' Bismotered has the same sense as mod. E. besmutted.

habergeoun, though etymologically a diminutive of hauberk, is often used as synonymous with it. 'It was a defence of an inferior description to the hauberk; but when the introduction of plate-armour, in the reign of Edward III, had supplied more convenient and effectual defences for the legs and thighs, the long skirt of the hauberk became superfluous; from that period the habergeon alone appears to have been worn.'—Way, note to Promptorium Parvulorum, p. 220.