l. 2158, Thynne subjoins Caxton's ending, with an alteration in the first
three lines, as unsuitable to follow l. 2158. Hence Thynne prints them as follows:--
And therwithal I abrayde Out of my slepe halfe a frayde Remembri[n]g wel what I had sene.
We thus see that it was never pretended that the lines following l. 2158 were Chaucer's. They are admittedly Caxton's and Thynne's. Even if we had not been told this, we could easily have detected it by the sudden inferiority in the style. Caxton's second line will not scan at all comfortably; neither will the third, nor the fourth. (The seventh can be improved by altering _began_ to _gan_). And Thynne's lines are but little better.
NOTES TO THE LEGEND OF GOOD WOMEN.
NOTES TO THE PROLOGUE.
*** N.B. The references are to the B-text, except where special mention of the A-text is made. The latter is denoted by the letter 'A', preceded by a short line.
2. Compare Chaucer's Troilus, book ii. ll. 894-6.
5. _Nis noon_ = _ne is noon_, is not none, i.e. is no one. This use of the double negative, as in modern provincial English, is extremely common, and need not be again remarked upon. Cf. ll. 7, 15, &c.
9. 'For there may no man prove it by actual trial.'
10. _Leve_, believe. Notice the numerous senses of _leve_, viz. (1) believe; (2) leave, _v._; (3) grant; (4) dear; (5) leave, _sb._; (6) leaf (dat. case).
11. _Wel more thing_, many more things. The word _thing_ was originally neuter, and long remained unchanged in the plural. In l. 23, we have _thinges_. The M.E. _more_ usually means 'greater'; it is seldom used (as here) in the modern sense.
12. _Men shal nat_, people ought not to. The use of _men_ in the general sense of 'people' is extremely common in Chaucer, and the student should notice that it usually takes a _singular_ verb, when thus used. With ll. 12, 13 cf. Hamlet, i. 5. 166.
13. _But-if_, unless, except. Great attention should be paid to the exact sense of these apparently less important words. Frequently the whole sense of a sentence is missed, even by editors, owing to inattention to their use.
14. 'For, God knoweth, a thing is none the less true, although no one can see it.'
16. In the margins of MSS. C. and F. is written the Latin proverb here referred to, viz. 'Bernardus monachus non uidit omnia'; i.e. Bernard the monk (even) did not see everything. The reference is to the great learning and experience of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (born A.D. 1091, died Aug. 20, 1153). This we know from an entry in J. J. Hofmann's Lexicon Universale (Basileæ, 1677), s.v. _Bernardus_, where we find: 'Nullos habuit præceptores præter quercus et fagos. Hinc proverb: _Neque enim Bernardus vidit omnia_.' See an account of St. Bernard in Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints, or in Chambers' Book of Days, under the date of Aug. 20.
18. _Minde_, remembrance; see l. 26. Cf. 'to bear in _mind_.'
25. Cf. Le Rom. de la Rose, ed. Méon, 9669-72:--
'Car par l'escript que nous avons, Les fais des anciens savons; Si les en devons mercier, Et loer et regracier.'
26. _Rémembráunce_; accented on the first and last syllables. The melody of innumerable lines in Chaucer is only apparent to those who perceive the difference between the present and the old accentuation, especially in the case of French words. Besides, such accent is frequently variable; Chaucer has _hónour_, _rénoun_, &c. at one time, and _honóur_, _renóun_, &c. at another. Thus in l. 27 we have _honóuren_; and in l. 31 _credénce_.
27. _Wel oghte us_, it is very necessary for us, it well behoves us. _Us_ is here the dative case, and _oghte_ is the impersonal verb; in accordance with Chaucer's usual method. But, in this case, there is a grammatical difficulty; for the past tense _oghte_ is here used with the sense of the present; the right form would be expressed, in modern English, by _oweth_, and in M.E. by _ah_ (also _awe_, _o[gh]e_). Such use of the right form of the present tense is exceedingly rare; and (possibly owing to a sense of uncertainty about its true form) the form of the past tense was used both for past and present, whether personal or impersonal, precisely as we now use _must_ in place both of M.E. _mot_ (present) and _moste_ (past). Mätzner only gives three examples of the present tense of this verb, when used impersonally; viz. '_Hym awe_ to rise,' it behoves him to rise, Metrical Homilies, p. 77; '_Vus o[gh]e_,' it behoves us, Allit. Poems, ed. Morris, i. 552; '_Him owith_ to mynystre,' Reliquiæ Antiquæ, ii. 48.
The only right way of thoroughly understanding Chaucer's grammar is by comparing one passage with another, observing how particular expressions occur. This is best done by the proper process of reading the text; but even the usual glossarial indexes will often furnish ready examples. Thus the glossary to the Prioresses Tale gives the following examples:--
'And ther she was honoured as _hir oughte_'; E 1120.
--'wel more _us oughte_ Receyven al in gree that god us sent'; E 1150.
The glossary to the Man of Law's Tale gives:--
'Alla goth to his in, and, as _him oughte_,' &c.; B 1097.
'But that they weren as hem _oughte be_'; G 1340.
'Wel _oughten we_ to doon al our entente'; G 6.
'Wel _oughte us_ werche, and ydelnes withstonde'; G 14.
As to the spelling of the word, it may be remarked that _oghte_ is the more correct form, because _[=o]_ answers to A.S. _[=a]_, and _gh_ to A.S. _h_ in the A.S. form _[=a]hte_. But a confusion between the symbols _ogh_, _ugh_, and _ough_ soon arose, and all three were merged in the form _ough_; hence neither _ogh_ nor _ugh_ occurs in modern English. See Skeat, Eng. Etymology, § 333, p. 361.
The full explanation of this and similar phrases would extend these notes to an inordinate length. Only brief hints can here be given.
28. _Ther_, where. The sense 'where' is commoner than the sense 'there.'
29. _Can but lyte_, know but little. Cf. Prior. Tale, B 1726, 1898.
30. _For to rede_, to read. The use of _for to_ with the gerundial infinitive is found in Layamon and the Ormulum, and may have been suggested by the like use of the French _pour_, O. Fr. _por_ (and even _por a_). See Mätzner, Engl. Grammatik, ii. 2. 54. Compare Parl. Foules, 16, 695; Ho. Fame, 657.
36. This connection of 'the month of May' with song and poetry is common in Mid. Eng. poetry, from the natural association of spring with a time of joy and hope. We even find something of the kind in A.S. poetry. See The Phoenix, l. 250; Menologium, l. 75.
The earliest song in Middle English relates to the cuckoo; and, before Chaucer, we already find, in the Romance of Alexander, l. 2049, such lines as--
'In tyme of May hot is in boure; Divers, in medewe, spryngith floure; The ladies, knyghtis honourith; Treowe love in heorte durith'; &c.
See also the poem on Alisoun, in Morris and Skeat, Spec. of Eng., part ii. p. 43. Again, we have a like mention of the May-season and of the singing of birds in the introduction to the Roman de la Rose; see vol. i. p. 96.
Nevertheless, the whole of the present passage is highly characteristic of the author, and extremely interesting. Cf. ll. 108, 176.
40. _Condicioun_, temperament, character, disposition. Prof. Corson here refers us to Shakespeare, Merch. Ven. i. 2. 143; Cor. v. 4. 10; Oth. iv. 1. 204; Jul. Cæs. ii. 1. 254, &c.
41. On the scansion, see note to l. 67.
43. _Daysyes_, daisies; here dissyllabic. But in l. 182 we have the full form _day-es-y-e_, of four syllables, answering to the A.S. _dæges éage_ (or _ége_), lit. day's eye, or eye of day, as Chaucer himself says in l. 184. And it is worth adding that his etymology is perfectly correct; for, in the few instances in which etymologies are suggested in Middle English, they are usually ludicrously wrong. In l. 184, the word is only trisyllabic (_day-es-y'_), the last syllable suffering elision. The A.S. _dægesége_ occurs in a list of plants in A.S. Leechdoms, ed. Cockayne, iii. 292, l. 8; and we also find in Wright's A.S. Vocabularies, ed. Wülker, col. 135, l. 22, and col. 322, l. 11, the following entries:--'_Consolda_, dægesege,' and '_Consolda_, dægeseage.'
The primary meaning of _dæges éage_ is doubtless the sun; the daisy is named from its supposed likeness to the sun, the white petals being the rays, and the yellow centre the sun's sphere.
Compare Lydgate's Troy-book, ed. 1555, fol. K 6, back:--
'And next, Appollo, so clere, shene, and bright, The _dayes eye_, and voyder of the nyght.'
46. 'That, when in my bed, no day dawns upon me on which I am not (at once) up, and (am soon) walking in the meadow.' _Nam_ = _ne am_, am not.
49. _By the morwe_, with the (dawn of the) morning.
50. _Sight-e_ is dissyllabic, as the scansion shews. In l. 15, _wight_ is monosyllabic. It is often difficult to ascertain Chaucer's usage of such forms, and we have to observe, where we can, any instances that are helpful. The Rime-Indexes to the Canterbury Tales and to the Minor Poems are often of great service. We learn from them that _wight_ rimes with the monosyllables _bright_, _knight_, _might_, _night_, _right_, &c., whereas _sighte_ rimes with the infin. moods _light-e_, _fight-e_, &c., as well as with monosyllables, and is therefore used somewhat capriciously. Another helpful list is that given in Ellis's Early Eng. Pronunciation, ch. iv. § 5, founded upon Prof. Child's articles on Chaucer and Gower. This at once refers us to C. T. 2118 (It were a lusty _sight-e_ for to see); 2335 (But sodeinly she saugh a _sight-e_ queynte); &c.
We should also consider the etymology. Now _wight_ = A.S. _wiht_, is monosyllabic, and gives no difficulty. On the other hand, the A.S. for 'sight' is _gesiht_ or _gesihþ_; but it is a fem. sb., and makes _all_ its oblique cases with a final _-e_, viz. _gesiht-e_ or _gesihþ-e_. In such instances, the nominative case often lost its distinctive form, and took the form of the other cases, so that already in the Ormulum (l. 12670) we find the nom. case _sihhþ-e_, dissyllabic. Such usages have received careful attention in the present edition, and in almost every case the addition of a final _e_ in an unexpected place can be amply justified by instances of Chaucer's usage in other passages. If the student will endeavour to _verify_ some of the examples here given, he will soon come to a clearer knowledge of the matter.
52. _Hit_, it, i.e. the daisy. But in l. 53 it is referred to as _she_. We shall see why this is hereafter. As a mere flower, it is neuter; but as being the type of Alcestis, it is feminine. Cf. ll. 62, 63.
53. We have come to the first instance in which Chaucer transposed the order of his material in the course of revision. Line 53 of the B-text corresponds to A. 55, whilst B. 61 corresponds to A. 51. All such instances are clearly shewn by printing the transposed passages twice over, once in their right place, and again in their changed place _in a smaller type_. By this arrangement all such transpositions can be understood at a glance.
The blank space which here appears in the A-text corresponds to ll. 50-52 in B, which are marked with an asterisk as being peculiar to the latter text. In order to save space, a small blank space (of one or two lines only) often corresponds to an insertion in the other text of some length.
56. 'And I love it, and ever (do so) equally anew,' i.e. unalterably.
57. The word _herte_ is so common that it is worth while to remember that it is usually dissyllabic; the A.S. form being _heorte_.
58. _Al_, although (very common). _Of this_, in this matter.
61. _Weste_, is here a verb; 'to turn to the west.' See l. 197.
65. Probably to be scanned thus: Óf | the sónn' | for thér | hit wól | unclós-e. See note to l. 67, and cf. l. 111.
66. _Ne had_, pronounced as _nad_; and often so written.
67. The first syllable of a line is often wanting in Chaucer; so that the first foot consists of a single emphatic syllable. Such lines are now considered faulty, though examples may be found in Tennyson's 'Vision of Sin,' which cannot be called unmelodious; but they were once common, especially in Lydgate. Some examples from the present poem are the following:--
That | of alle the floures in the mede; 41.
Suf | fisant this flour to preyse aright; 67.
Of | this flour, whan that hit shulde unclose; 111.
Made | hir lyk a daysie for to sene; 224.
So also ll. 245, 303, 722, 783, 797, 859, 863, 901, 911, 1024, 1030, 1076, 1187, 1275, 1324, 1342, 1498, 1551, 1828, 1996, 2471, 2575.
68. _Conning_, knowledge. Many words now used with a changed signification are well explained in Trench's Select Glossary, which should be consulted for them. Thus, in the article upon _cunning_, Trench quotes the following from the examination of Wm. Thorpe, as preserved in Foxe's Book of Martyrs:--'I believe that all these three Persons [in the Godhead] are even in power and in _cunning and in might_'.
69. _Make_, compose poetry; _of sentement_, concerning your feelings. So in l. 74, _making_ is 'poetry.' See Trench, s.v. _make_; where it is shewn that the use of the word arose quite independently of the Gk. use of [Greek: poiein] and [Greek: poiêtês]. 'One of the earliest instances of the use of _makyere_ in the sense of "author" occurs in the Kentish Ayenbite of Inwyt, ed. Morris, p. 269; written A.D. 1340. The A.S. _scóp_ and O.H.G. _scóf_ mean "a shaper." The G. _Dichter_ means an "arranger"; the Fr. _trouvère_, Provençal _troubadour_, and Ital. _trovatore_ means a "finder."'--Skeat, note to P. Plowman, B. xii. 16 (where _makynges_ means 'poems').
72. Cf. l. 193. There appears to be here some reference to a poem of the kind called in F. _tenson_ (O.F. _tençon_) or in O. Provençal _tenso_, i.e. 'dispute,' in which the relative merits of two subjects are discussed. An early example in English is the poem called The Owl and the Nightingale, in which these birds contend for the superiority. In the present case, the suggestion is to discuss the value of the Leaf, representing no doubt constancy or any enduring virtue, as compared with that of the Flower, the representative of perishable beauty and the freshness of first love. Chaucer probably refers to some such poem in French, but I cannot point out the exact source.
On the other hand, the present passage doubtless suggested the poem called 'The Flower and the Leaf,' a pretty but somewhat tedious poem of the fifteenth century, in which Chaucer's style is imitated with no remarkable exactness or success. This poem was formerly rashly attributed to Chaucer himself without any evidence, though it was printed for the first time as late as 1598. See it discussed in vol. i. p. 44. Gower also refers to the present passage; C. A. iii. 358.
In scanning this line, remember to pronounce _Whether_ as _Whe'r_, a monosyllable. This is common also in Shakespeare, as in his 59th Sonnet: '_Whe'r_ we are mended, or _whe'r_ better they.'
74. _Making_, poetry; _ropen_, reaped. 'For I well know, that ye (poets) have long ere this reaped the field of poetry, and carried away the corn from it; and I come after you as a gleaner.' See note to l. 69. Compare Parl. Foules, 22-25.
The A.S. _rípan_, to reap, was a strong verb; pt. t. _ráp_, pp. _ripen_. The M.E. forms are various and corrupt, and not very common. In P. Plowman, B. xiii. 374, the pt. t. is _rope_, pl. _ropen_. The proper form of the pp. is _r[)i]pen_; the form _ropen_ is due to that confusion between the past tense and past participle which is so extremely common in English. See Morris, Hist. Outlines of Eng. Accidence, p. 160.
80. _Evel apayd_, ill pleased, displeased; a common phrase. See Cler. Tale, E 1052; Can. Yem. Tale, G 921, 1049. _Apayd_, pleased, occurs in the Kn. Tale, 1010 (A 1868).
85. _Wynt_, windeth, turns (me) about, directs (me). These contracted forms of the third person singular of the present indicative are almost universal in Anglo-Saxon, and very common in M.E. Chaucer has _fynt_ = findeth, _rit_ = rideth, _hit_ = hideth, _et_ = eateth, l. 1389, &c. A much earlier example of _wint_ for _windeth_ is in the Ancren Riwle, p. 296.
86. _In-with_, within. This curious form is not very common in Chaucer. Still it occurs in l. 228 below; in the Prior. Tale, B 1794; Cler. Tale, E 870; March. Tale, E 1944; Troilus, ii. 508, iii. 1499, &c. See Mätzner.
88. _Nothing I_, I am not at all (the master of it).
90. This is a fine simile. His lady sovereign can evoke from him any tone at will. _And maketh_ = and (the hand) makes. Bell puts _That_ for _And_, without authority.
93. _Yow list_, it pleases you. _List_ = _listeth_; cf. note to l. 85.
97. 'But why said I that we should give credence?' See ll. 10, 20.
In the A-text (l. 81) _But wherfor_ is used differently, and means--'But the reason why,' &c.
100. _Seen at eye_, see evidently. So in the Can. Yem. Tale, G 1059. Cf. _fair at yë_, fair to the sight, id. G 964; Cler. Tale, E 1168. The promise made in l. 101 was not fulfilled.
103. _Besy gost_, active spirit. _Thrusteth_, thirsteth.
105. _Gledy_, glowing; an adj. formed from _gleed_, a glowing coal. I know of no other example of this word. The compound adj. _gled-read_, glede-red, i.e. red as a glowing coal, occurs in O. Eng. Homilies, ed. Morris, i. 249.
108. The first of May was a favourite time for joyful observances. See note to Kn. Tale, A 1500.
109. _Dredful_, timid, timorous; as in Kn. Tale, A 1479.
112. _Agayn_, against, towards, turned towards; as in l. 48.
113. _The beste_, i.e. the Bull, the sign Taurus. _Agenores doghter_ is Europa, daughter of Agenor of Phoenicia, who, according to the fable, was carried off by Jupiter in the form of a bull. Hence Ovid uses the expression 'Agenoreus bos,' Fast. vi. 712; and calls Europa 'Agenore nata,' Met. ii. 858. For the story, see the latter reference.
Chaucer here tells us that the Sun, on the 1st of May, was 'in the breast' of Taurus, i.e. in the middle of it. It was, in fact, far advanced in the sign, near the 20th degree. See Fig. 1 in this volume, which shews the back of the Astrolabe.
118. Cf. Book of the Duchesse, 399.
125. Cf. Book of the Duchesse, ll. 410-2, which is a parallel passage. Both passages are borrowed from the Roman de la Rose, 55-58; see vol. i. p. 95.
126. _Mat_, dead; a term borrowed from the game of chess. See Anelida, 176; Book Duch., 660; and Kn. Tale, A 955.
128. _Atempre_, temperate, mild. See Book of the Duch., 341, and the note. This again is from the Rom. de la Rose, 125. _Releved_, raised up again, revived. Cotgrave gives: '_Relevé_, raised, lift, or set up again; relieved, revived, fully restored.'
130. 'In the classical and middle ages small birds were a common article of food, as they are on the continent at the present time; and the season for catching them with a _panter_, or bag-net, was winter, when the scarcity of food made them tame. The poet here represents their songs in the spring, as the expression of their exultation at having baffled the stratagems, quaintly called _sophistries_, by which the fowler had endeavoured to lure them to their destruction.'--BELL.
The word _panter_ is curiously preserved in the mod. E. _painter_, a rope for mooring a boat. I quote the following from my Etym. Dict.: '"_Painter_, a rope employed to fasten a boat"; Hawkesworth's Voyages, 1773, vol. i. p. xxix. Corrupted (by assimilation to the ordinary sb. _painter_) from M.E. _panter_, a noose, esp. for catching birds. See Chaucer, Leg. of Good Women, 131; Prompt. Parv., p. 381; spelt _paunter_, Polit. Songs, ed. Wright, p. 344.--O.F. _pantiere_, a kind of snare for birds, Roquefort; _panthiere_, "a great swoop-net"; Cotgrave. Cf. Ital. _pantiera_, "a kind of tramell or fowling net"; Florio; _panthera_, "a net or haie to catch conies with, also a kind of fowling-net"; id.--Lat. _panther_, a hunting-net for catching wild beasts. Cf. _panthera_, an entire capture.--Gk. [Greek: panthêros], catching all; cf. [Greek: panthêra], the whole booty (a very late word).--Gk. [Greek: pan], neut. of [Greek: pas], every; and [Greek: thêr], a wild beast.
'The Irish _painteir_, Gael. _painntear_, a gin, snare, are forms of the same word [but were borrowed from English or French]. It is remarkable that, in America, a _panther_ is also called a _painter_. See Cooper, The Pioneers, cap. xxviii.'
132. _Upon_, against, in scorn of; cf. _in his despyt_, l. 134. _A-whaped_, scared.
--A. 127. The A-text is hereabouts very imperfect, and some lines are too short. I supply words within square brackets, in order to fill out the lines, and to make sense.
145. See Parl. of Foules, 309, 683, and the note to the former passage in vol. i. p. 516. Birds were supposed to choose their mates on St. Valentine's day (Feb. 14).
146. _Chees_, chose: the past tense; A.S. _céas_.
154. _Tydif_, the name of some small bird, guessed by Skinner to be the _titmouse_; more probably the _tydy_ mentioned by Drayton, which is supposed to mean a wren. See _Tydy_ in Nares. Cf. Squi. Tale, F 648; id. 610, 611.
158. 'Provided that their mates would pity them.'
160. _Daunger_ usually means 'power to harm.' These allegorical personages were suggested by the Roman de la Rose. In the English version (l. 3018) _Daunger_ is the name of the 'foul churl,' who is set beside the Rose, to prevent strangers from plucking it. In Chaucer's Complaint unto Pite, he introduces such personages as Crueltee (corresponding to Daunger), Pite, Bountee, Gentilesse, and Curtesye. So here, we are told that although Daunger (i.e. power to harm or to repel) seemed for a time to have the upper hand, yet at the last Pity induced relenting, and caused Mercy to surpass (or prevail over) Right (or Justice). Just as Pity is opposed to Danger or Cruelty, so we find, in the old theological allegories, that Mercy is opposed to Justice. The pleading of Mercy against Justice will be found at length in Grosteste's Chastel d'Amour, in the Cursor Mundi, p. 550, and in the Gesta Romanorum, Tale 55. See my note to P. Plowman, C. xxi. 120.
163. 'By means of innocence and well-mannered courtesy.'
164. 'But I do not call folly, or false pity, by the name of innocence'; i.e. the poet does not approve of immodesty or weakness, because in all things the chief virtue is moderation, or the 'golden mean.' Beauty should be neither too yielding nor too pitiless.
166. _Etik_, Lat. _Ethica_; alluding to the Ethics of Aristotle, in which happiness and virtue are discussed, and the nature of virtue is said to shew itself in its appearing as the medium or mean between two extremes. Similarly, Gower in his Conf. Amantis (ed. Pauli, iii. 153) refers us to Aristotle's advice to Alexander, to keep the mean between avarice and prodigality. See also Gower's remarks on _ethique_; id. iii. 140. Cf. Lounsbury, Studies in Chaucer, ii. 387.
170. So in the Parl. of Foules, 680, the birds are described as joining in the roundel--'Now _welcom somer_, with thy sonne softe.'
171. Here again is a reminiscence of the Roman de la Rose, ll. 8449-51:--
'Zephirus et Flora, sa fame, Qui des flors est deesse et dame, Cil dui font les floretes nestre,' &c.
i.e. Zephirus and his wife Flora, who is the goddess and lady of flowers, these two make the little flowers grow. See Book of the Duchesse, 402; and the note upon it.
184. 'The daisy, or, otherwise, the eye of day'; see note to l. 43.
186. 'I pray that she may fall fairly,' that she may light upon good fortune. All the MSS. have _she_; otherwise we might read _her_, as such is the more usual idiom, in which case it would mean--'that it may befall her fairly.' We have a similar case in the Manciple's Prologue, H 40, where six MSS. have the usual idiom 'foule mot _thee_ falle,' whilst the Ellesmere MS. alone has 'foule mot _thou_ falle.' For a similar variation, cf. l. 277 below with A. 180, i.e. with the corresponding line in the earlier text.
191. 'For, as regards me, neither of them is dearer or more hateful than the other; I am not yet retained on the side of either of them.' The sense _with-holden_ is detained, kept back, hence reserved to one side, committed to a particular view.
195. _Thing_ = _werk_ (A. 79), i.e. poem. _Of another tonne_, out of quite a different cask. Cf. 'Nay, thou shalt drinken of another tonne Er that I go'; C. T., D 170. Cf. Rom. Rose (French Text), 6838.
196. _Swich thing_, such a thing as the strife between the Leaf and the Flower. The A-text (l. 80) helps us here, as it reads 'swich stryf.'
203. _Herber_, an arbour. This difficult word is fully explained in the New E. Dict., s.v. _arbour_. It is there shewn that the original sense of the M.E. _herber_ or _erber_ was 'a plot of ground covered with grass or turf; a garden-lawn or green.' In the Medulla Grammatices, ab. 1460, we find:--'_Viretum, locus pascualis virens_, a gres-yerd, or an herber.' Subsequently it meant a herb-garden or flower-garden; a fruit-garden or orchard; trees or shrubs trained on frame-work; and then a bower, or 'shady retreat, of which the sides and roof are formed by trees and shrubs closely planted or intertwined, or of lattice-work covered with climbing shrubs and plants, as ivy, vine, &c.' Dr. Murray remarks that 'the original characteristic of the arbour seems to have been the floor and benches of herbage [as here]; in the modern idea the leafy covering is the prominent feature.'
The present passage was imitated and amplified by the authoress of The Flower and the Leaf, beginning at l. 49:--
'a pleasaunt herber well ywrought, That benched was, and with turfes new, Freshly turved, wherof the grene gras, So small, so thicke, so short, so fresh of hew, That most like unto green woll wot I it was; The hegge also, that yede in compas And closed in all the grene herbere, With sicamour was set and eglatere'; &c.
So too, in the Assembly of Ladies, st. 7:--
'Which broght me to an herber fair and grene Made with benches ful crafty and clene.'
208. _Hed_, hidden. This rare form occurs again in Will. of Palerne, 688. The usual M.E. forms are _hud_ and _hid_. Similarly Chaucer uses _ken_ for 'kin' in Book Duch. 438, the usual M.E. forms being _kun_ and _kin_; and we find _ken_ also in Will. of Palerne, 722. These forms are Southern, and mostly Kentish.
213. _The god of love_, Cupid; cf. Parl. Foules, 212. Cf. the description in the E. version of the Rom. of the Rose, ll. 890, 1003.
_In his hande_, i.e. leading by the hand; see l. 241.
_A quene_, a queen, viz. Alcestis, as we afterwards learn. She is so clothed as to represent a daisy; hence her green dress, golden hair-ornament or caul, and white crown; see l. 218, and note to l. 227.
215. _Fret_ here means a caul of gold wire. They were sometimes set with stones. Cf. Rom. Rose, 1108, and The Flower and the Leaf, 152:--'A riche _fret_ of gold,' &c. See Fairholt, Costume in England.
217. The pause after _smale_ saves the final _e_ from elision. See examples in the Cant. Tales, B 2153, 3281, 3989; &c. We may translate the phrase _and I shal nat lye_ by 'if I am not to lie'; see l. 357, and the note.
221. _Oriental_, eastern; here, of superior quality. 'The precious stones called by lapidaries _oriental ruby_, _oriental topaz_, _oriental amethyst_, and _oriental emerald_ are red, yellow, violet, and green sapphires, distinguished from the other gems of the same name which have not the prefix _oriental_, by their greatly superior hardness, and greater specific gravity'; Engl. Cyclopædia, s.v. Adamantine Spar. Cf. P. Plowman, B. 2. 14.
223. _For which_, by means of which, whereby.
227. In the Rom. of the Rose the 'god of love' is said to be clothed 'not in silk, but all in flowers'; his garment was all covered with flowers, intermingled with rose-leaves; and he had a chaplet of red roses upon his head. See the E. version, l. 890. In l. 228, _fret_ means merely 'ornament' or 'border' of embroidery, whereas in l. 215 it is used in the sense of a caul or net worn on the head. The A-text (160) has _garlond_, and adds that lilies were stuck about among the rose-leaves. Moreover, a 'rose-leaf' here means a petal, or it would not be described as red. _Greves_ is properly 'groves or bushes,' but must here mean sprays or small boughs.
231. _For hevinesse_, to save him from the heaviness and weight of gold. The peculiar use of _for_ in the sense of 'against,' or 'to prevent,' should be noticed. See the note to Sir Thopas, B 2052.
242. _Corouned_ is pronounced as _Coróun'd_.
--A. 179. Notice this mention of Alcestis in the A-text. This is altered in the later version, so that the poet does not know who the queen is till l. 511, though she actually announces herself in l. 432. See note to l. 255 (B.) below.
249. _Absolon_, Absalom; remarkable for the beauty of his hair; see 2 Sam. xiv. 26. Cf. 'Absalom o ses treces soves'; Rom. de la Rose, 14074. I have little doubt that the general idea of this Ballade is taken from one quoted from MS. du Roi, à Paris (fonds de Saint-Victor, no. 275, fol. 45, recto, col. 2), by M. Michel, in his edition of Tristan, i. lxxxviii. It begins as follows:--
'_Hester_, Judith, _Penelope_, _Helaine_, Sarre, _Tisbe_, Rebeque, et Sairy, _Lucresse_, _Yseult_, Genèvre, chastelaine La très loial nommée de Vergy, Rachel, et la dame de Fayel _Onc ne furent si precieulx jouel_ D'onneur, bonté, senz, beauté et valour _Con est ma très doulce dame d'onnour_.
Se d'_Absalon_ la grant beauté humaine,' &c.
The refrain being, as before, 'Con est ma très doulce dame d'onnour.'
250. _Ester_, Esther; cited as an example of 'debonairte' in the Book of the Duch. 986; see also C. T., E 1371, 1744 (Merch. Tale); and the Tale of Melibeus, B 2291.
251. _Ionathas_, Jonathan; remarkable for his 'friendliness' towards David; 1 Sam. xix. 2.
252. _Penalopee_, Penelope, wife of Ulysses; see the note to Book of the Duch. 1081; and Ovid, Her. i. _Marcia Catoun_, formerly said to be Marcia, wife of M. Cato Uticensis [not Cato the Censor, as Bell says]. Bell notes that 'her complaisance, apparently, in consenting to be lent to Cato's friend, Hortensius, is the ground of her praise in this place.' Gilman refers us to Clough's tr. of Plutarch, iv. 394, where the story is given. This, however, is not the right solution. Prof. Lounsbury (Studies in Chaucer, ii. 294) points out that the reference is clearly to Marcia, _daughter_ of the same Cato, because Chaucer got the story from Hieronymus contra Iovinianum (i. 46), where we find:--'Marcia Catonis filia minor, quum quæreretur ab ea, cur post amissum maritum, denuo non nuberet, respondit, non se inuenire uirum, qui se magis vellet quam sua.' A much better example would have been her sister Porcia, the devoted wife of Marcus Brutus (Jul. Cæsar, ii. 1).
254. _Isoude_, the heroine of the romance of Sir Tristram; see Parl. of Foules, 288 (and the note on the line); also Ho. Fame, 1796. _Eleyne_, Helen, heroine of the Trojan war.
255. Note how the original refrain of this Balade, beginning 'Alceste is here,' is altered to 'My lady cometh'; in order to prevent the premature mention of Alcestis' name. See note to A. 179 above, following the note to l. 242. _Disteyne_, bedim; viz. by outshining them.
257. _Lavyne_, Lavinia, the heroine of the latter part of the Æneid; cf. Book of the Duch. 331; Ho. Fame, 458. _Lucresse_, Lucretia of Rome, whose 'Legend' is related at length below; l. 1680. Cf. Cant. Tales, F 1405.
258. _Polixene_, Polyxena, daughter of Priam, who, like Lucretia, bought love too dearly; for she was sacrificed on the tomb of Achilles, according to Ovid, Met. xiii. 448. But according to Guido delle Colonne, whom Chaucer probably regarded as a better authority, she was slain by Pyrrhus. Cf. Book of the Duch. 1071. Note also:--'Alas, your love, I bye hit al to dere'; Anelida, 255.
259. _Cleopatre_, Cleopatra; whose Legend is the first of the series below: l. 580.
261. _Tisbe_, Thisbe; whose Legend follows that of Cleopatra; l. 706.
263. _Herro_, Hero of Sestos, beloved by Leander; see Ovid, Her. xviii, xix. Spelt _Erro_, Pref. to Man of Law, B 69; whence we learn that the Legend of Hero was intended to be one of the set. _Dido_; whose Legend occurs below; l. 924. _Laudomia_, Laodamia, wife of Protesilaus; see Ovid, Her. xiii. Spelt _Ladomea_, and accented (as here) on the _o_; Pref. to Man of Law, B 71. And see Cant. Tales, F 1445.
264. _Phyllis_; whose Legend occurs at l. 2394.
265. _Canace_, daughter of Æolus, beloved by Macareus; see Ovid, Her. xi. See Pref. to Man of Law, B 78; whence we learn that Chaucer had _no_ intention of including her Legend in the set, but expressly rejected it. _Chere_, sad countenance.
266. _Ysiphile_, Hypsipyle; whose Legend occurs at l. 1368.
268. _Ypermistre_, Hypermnestra; whose Legend occurs at l. 2562.
_Adriane_, Ariadne; whose Legend occurs at l. 1886.
For further remarks, see my long note to the Man of Law's Tale, B 61.
270. Bell remarks that the above beautiful Balade has been often imitated; and cites a poem by Surrey with the title 'A Praise of his Love, wherein he reproveth them that compare their ladies with his,' and beginning--'Geue place, ye louers, here before That spent your bostes and bragges in vaine.' See Tottell's Miscellany, ed. Arber, p. 20. Another such poem occurs in the same collection, at p. 163; beginning--'Geue place, you Ladies, and begon'; this, it appears, was written by John Heywood; Warton, Hist. E. Poet. (1840), iii. 56 (note). With respect to Surrey's verses, Warton (Hist. E. P. 1840, iii. 33) remarks that 'the leading compliment, which has been used by later writers, is in the spirit of Italian fiction.' But it is probable that we here see Surrey's original before us. Among the beautiful songs on this theme, we should not neglect 'You meaner beauties of the night,' by Sir Henry Wotton. Cf. ll. 274, 275 below.
271. _By_, with respect to. _My lady_ is the queen Alcestis, whose name Chaucer is supposed not to know as yet. See l. 432.
277. See note to l. 186 above.
278. _Nadde_ = _ne hadde_. 'For, had not the comfort of her presence existed.' We should now say, 'Had it not been for the comfort.' Cf. Spec. Eng. Literature, pt. iii. note to § xv (_b_). l. 96.
295. _For the nones_, for the once, for this special occasion. See the note to Chaucer's Prologue, l. 379. The phrase was first explained, carefully and fully, by Price, in a note to Warton's Hist. Eng. Poet. ed. 1840, ii. 74, 75.
298. 'That bears away the prize from us all in external beauty or figure.' _Our alder_, of us all; where _our_ = A.S. _úre_, gen. pl. of the first personal pronoun, and _alder_ is a more emphatic form of _aller_ (A.S. _ealra_), gen. pl. of _all_. See Chaucer's Prol. 586, 710, 799, 823. Hence _alderliefest_, dearest of all, in 2 Hen. VI. i. 1. 28; probably borrowed from _alderlevest_ in Chaucer's Troilus, v. 576 (in vol. ii.). Prof. Corson cites _altherbeste_, best of all, from Gower, C. A. ed. Pauli, i. 106; _althermest_, most of all, from the same, i. 147; _althertrewest_, id. i. 176; _altherwerst_, id. i. 53. In Chaucer's Minor Poems the reader will find _our alder_, of us all, ABC, 84; also _alderbeste_, Book Duch. 246; _alderfaireste_, id. 1050; and _aldernext_, Parl. Foules, 244.
300. _A-compas enviroun_, in a circle, all round about.
304. _By and by_, one after another, in order; see the New E. Dict.
307. _Furlong-wey_, lit. two minutes and a-half; or the time of walking a furlong, at 3 miles an hour. See Anelida, 328; Ho. Fame, 2064.
314. _Hit am I_, it is I; the usual M.E. idiom. See Kn. Tale, A 1736; Man of Law's Tale, B 1109, and note. _Him neer_, nearer to him: _neer_ is the comparative of _neh_ or _nigh_; cf. l. 316.
318. Dante has 'che noi siam vermi'; Purg. x. 124.
323. _Servaunt_ in Chaucer frequently means 'lover'; such is necessarily the case here.
329. Chaucer here certainly seems to imply that he translated the whole of the Romance of the Rose, or at any rate that part of it which is especially directed against women. The existing English version consists of three fragments, apparently by different authors, and I see little reason for connecting more than fragment A (ll. 1-1705) with Chaucer. None of the fragments contain such passages as the God of Love would most have objected to; but we find some of them practically reproduced in the Prologue to the Wyf of Bathes Tale. We also find numerous imitations of passages from that poem scattered up and down throughout Chaucer's works; and it is remarkable that such passages usually lie outside the contents of the English fragments. Where they do not, Chaucer frequently varies from the English version of the Romance. Thus where Chaucer (Book Duch. 419) has:--
'And every tree stood by himselve Fro other wel ten foot or twelve. So grete trees, so huge of strengthe'--
the Eng. version of the Rom. of the Rose (1391) has:--
'These trees were set, that I devyse, Oon from another, in assyse, Five fadome or sixe, I trowe so, But they were hye and grete also.'
We may here note the variation between _ten foot or twelve_ and _five fadom or six_; the original has _cinq toises, ou de sis_. Other passages in the Book of the Duchesse which resemble the existing E. version of the Rom. of the Rose are these. (1) Book Duch. 424; cf. R. R. 1396. (2) Book Duch. 291; cf. R. R. 49. (3) Book Duch. 410; cf. R. R. 59. (4) Book Duch. 283; R. R. 7. (5) Book Duch. 340; R. R. 130. (6) Book Duch. 1152; R. R. 2084.
For a fuller discussion of this question, see the Pref. to Ch. Minor Poems, in vol. i. p. 1.
--A. 260. _Paramours_ seems to be an adverb here, meaning 'with a lover's affection.' So in the Kn. Tale, A 1155:--
'For _par amour_ I loved hir first er thow.'
And again, in A 2112:--
'Ye knowen wel, that every lusty knight That loveth _paramours_, and hath his might.'
So also in Troilus, v. 158, 332, and in Barbour's Bruce, xiii. 485--'he lufit his [Ross's] sistir _paramouris_.' Tyrwhitt quotes from Froissart, bk. i. c. 196--'Il aima adonc _par amours_, et depuis espousa, Madame Ysabelle de Juiliers.'
The following phrase 'too hard and hot' merely intensifies the sense of _paramours_.
332. _Criseyde._ The allusion is to Chaucer's long poem entitled _Troilus and Criseyde_ (or _Creseyde_). The A-text is more outspoken here, as it alludes to the inconstancy of the heroine in direct terms.
--A. 280. _Valerie_, Valerius; see note to A. 281 below.
_Titus_; Titus Livius; see l. 1683, and the note. _Claudian_; Claudius Claudianus, who wrote, amongst other things, a poem De Raptu Proserpinae, to which Chaucer refers; see Ho. Fame, 449, 1509. He flourished about A.D. 400.
--A. 281. _Ierome_; Hieronymus, usually known as St. Jerome, a celebrated father of the Latin Church; died Sept. 30, 420. In the Wyf of Bathes Prologue (C. T. 6251, Group D, l. 669) we find:--
'He hadde a book, that gladly, night and day, For his desport he wolde rede alway; He cleped it Valerie and Theofraste, At whiche book he lough alwey ful faste. And eek ther was somtyme a clerk at Rome, A cardinal, that highte Seint Ierome, That made a book agayn Iovinian'; &c.
In Tyrwhitt's Introductory discourse, he says of this Prologue--'The greatest part must have been of Chaucer's own invention, though one may plainly see he had been reading the popular invectives against marriage and women in general; such as, the Roman de la Rose; Valerius ad Rufinum _de non ducenda uxore_; and particularly Hieronymus _contra Iovinianum_.' He adds, in a note--'The holy Father, by way of recommending celibacy, has exerted all his learning and eloquence (and he certainly was not deficient in either) to collect together and aggravate whatever he could find to the prejudice of the female sex. Among other things he has inserted his own translation (probably) of a long extract from what he calls "Liber aureolus Theophrasti de nuptiis."
'Next to him in order of time was the treatise entitled _Epistola Valerii ad Rufinum de non ducenda uxore_ (MS. Reg. 12 D. iii.). It has been printed, for the similarity of its contents, I suppose, among the works of St. Jerome, though it is evidently of a much later date.... To these two books _Jean de Meun_ has been obliged for some of the severest strokes in his [part of the] _Roman de la Rose_; and Chaucer has transfused the quintessence of all the three works, upon the subject of Matrimony, into his _Wife of Bathes Prologue_ and _Merchant's Tale_.'
Tyrwhitt further observes that the _Epistola Valerii_ was written, according to Tanner, by Walter Map; of this there appears to be no doubt. Lounsbury (Studies, ii. 276) takes _Valerie_ to mean Valerius Maximus, which is here improbable.
It is, at first, not very clear why the God of Love is here represented as appealing to books _against_ women; but we are bidden to observe that, even there, good women are incidentally mentioned; see A. 284. Even Valerius praises Lucretia and Penelope.
--A. 288. Cf. the long passage in the Franklein's Tale about chaste women; C. T. 11676-11766 (F 1364-1456). It is nearly all taken from Jerome.
--A. 305. _Epistels_ rather than _epistelle_ in the singular. The reference is to Ovid's Heroides, which contains twenty-one love-letters. Cf. Chaucer's Introd. to Man of Law, B 55, where he alludes to Ovid's mention of lovers 'in his _Epistelles_.'
--A. 307. _Vincent_ is Vincent of Beauvais, who compiled an encyclopædia of universal knowledge in the 13th century. One portion of this great work, treating of universal history, is called _Speculum Historiale_, which Chaucer has here turned into _Storial Mirour_. See Lounsbury's Studies in Chaucer, ii. 375.
338. As Chaucer is pleased to call his poem by the name of 'seintes legende of Cupyde' in the Introd. to Man of Law, B 61, he here turns Venus into a saint, to keep up the analogy between his present undertaking and the Legenda Sanctorum. But John de Meun had previously said much the same thing. In Le Rom. de la Rose, 10863, Cupid is made to swear 'par _sainte_ Venus ma mere.' See the Eng. version, l. 5953. (Perhaps read _seynte_ in Text B.)
343. In accordance with the proverb--'Audi alteram partem.' See A. 325. Cf. Seneca, _Medea_, 195.
348. 'And even if you were not an omniscient god.'
352. From the Rom. of the Rose; the E. version has (ll. 1050, 1):--
'Hir court hath many a losengere, And many a traytour envious.'
Again repeated in Cant. Tales, B 4515-8.
353. _Totelere_ (C. _totulour_), tattling; properly a sb., meaning 'tattler,' but here used in apposition, and, practically, as an adjective. Tyrwhitt explains it by 'whisperer.' Halliwell quotes 'Be no _totiler_' from MS. Bibl. Reg. 17 B. xvii. fol. 141. It clearly means a gossiping tattler, or tale-bearer.
The word is scarce, but we find a helpful passage in P. Plowman, B. xx. 297:--
'Of alle taletellers and _tyterers_ in ydel.'
Here _tyterers_ means gossipers, or retailers of tittle-tattle; and various readings give the forms _titeleris_ (as printed by Wright) and _tutelers_ (as printed by Crowley). The last form _tuteler_ is clearly identical with Chaucer's _totelere_, spelt _tutelere_ in MS. Arch. Selden B. 24.
357. 'These are the causes why, if I am not to lie'; &c. See note to l. 217.
358. _Lavender_, laundress, washerwoman; (Bell's interpretation of 'gutter' is utter nonsense). See _Laundress_ in my Etym. Dict., where I refer to the present passage. _Laundress_ is formed by adding _-ess_ to _launder_ or _laundre_, the contracted form of _lavender_ as here used. In Barbour's Bruce, ed. Skeat, xvi. 273, 292, the word for 'washerwoman' is spelt _lauender_, _laynder_, and _landar_. Palsgrave's Eng. and Fr. Dict. gives--'_Laundre_, that wassheth clothes; _lauendiere_'; and Cotgrave explains the Fr. _lauandiere_ by the Eng. _launderesse_. Chaucer's presentation to us of Envy as the person who washes all the dirty linen in the court, is particularly happy. As a matter of fact, he is here quoting Dante, but he has substituted _lavender_ (perhaps in an ill sense, though I do not feel sure of this) for the _meretrice_ of the original. The passage referred to is in the Inferno, xiii. 64:--
'La meretrice, che mai dall' ospizio Di Cesare non torse gli occhi putti, Morte comune, e delle corti vizio, Infiammò contre me gli animi tutti.'
Cary's translation has:--
'The harlot, who ne'er turned her gloating eyes From Cæsar's household, common vice and pest Of courts, 'gainst me inflamed the minds of all.'
Gower (C. A. ed. Pauli, i. 263) says:--
'Senec witnesseth openly How that envie properly Is of the court the comun wenche.'
Note that _parteth_ in l. 359 means 'departeth.'
361. 'Whoever goes away, at any rate she will not be wanting.' Men come and go, but Envy remains. This is the right sense; but Bell, whom Prof. Corson follows, gives it quite a false twist. He says, 'Whosoever goes, i.e. falls, she will not be in want'; a desperate and unmeaning solution, due to not appreciating the force of the verb _to want_, which here simply means 'to be absent,' and can be applied to _persons_ as well as to _things_. 'There _wanteth_ but a mean to fill your song'; Two Gent. of Verona, i. 2. 295; 'though bride and bridegroom _wants_,' i.e. are absent, Tam. Shrew, iii. 2. 248: 'There _wanteth_ now our brother of Gloucester here'; Rich. III. ii. 1. 43.
364. 'But only because he is accustomed to write poems.'
366. 'Or it was enjoined him by some patron to compose those two poems (the Romaunce of the Rose and Troilus; _see_ A. 344); and he did not dare to refuse.'
371. _As thogh that_, as he would have done if.
372. _And had_, i.e. and had composed it all himself.
374. 'The allusion is to the several successful adventurers, like the Visconti, who in the 13th and 14th centuries succeeded in seizing upon the governments of Milan, and other free cities of Lombardy'; Bell. See the article _Visconti_ in the Eng. Cyclopædia; we are there referred to Verri, Storia di Milano, and to Muratori, Annali d' Italia. Cf. Dante, Inf.