l. 161; also--

'Alas! I see a serpent or a theef, That many a trewe man hath doon mescheef; Knightes Tale, 467 (A. 1325).

548. The reading _Troilus_ (in E. Hn.) must be a mistake, because he was not guilty of transferring his love to another; it was _Cressida_ who did that, so that the falcon would take care not to refer to that story. Paris deserted Oenone for Helen, and Jason deserted Medea for Glauce. Lamech was the first to have two wives, viz. Adah and Ziilah; [385] Gen. iv. 23. The whole of this passage is a recast of Chaucer's earlier poem of Anelida, where Lamech is introduced just in the same way (l. 150).

555. Imitated, but not with good taste, from Mark, i. 7.

558. This line resembles Troil. ii. 637.

579. 'Whether it was a grief to me, does not admit of doubt.'

583. 'Such grief I felt because he could not stay.'

593. Chaucer has this expression again, Kn. Ta. 2184 (A. 3042); Troilus, iv. 1586. It was a common proverb. Shakespeare has it frequently; Two G. of Ver. iv. i. 62; Rich. II., i. 3. 278; King Lear, iii. 2. 70. An early example of it is in Matt. Paris (Record Series), i. 20:--'Vitam in tantam sanctitatem commutavit, faciendo de necessitate virtutem,' &c.

596. _to borwe_, for a security; _borwe_ being a sb., not a verb. Cf. Kn. Ta. 360, 764 (A. 1218, 1622). Hence it means, 'Saint John being for a security,' i. e. Saint John being my security; as in The Complaint of Mars, l. 9. She pledges herself by Saint John, the apostle of truth; see 1 John, iii. 19, iv. 20. Lydgate has 'seint John to borowe' in his Complaint of the Black Knight, st. 2.

601. 'When he has well _said_ everything, he has done (all he means to do).'

602. This is a common proverb; cf. Com. of Errors, iv. 3. 64; Tempest, ii. 2. 103; Marlowe, Jew of Malta, iii. 4.

607. From Boethius, De Cons. Phil. lib. iii. met. 2:--

'Repetunt proprios quaeque recursus Redituque suo singula gaudent.'

A few lines above is a passage answering to ll. 611-620, which in the original runs thus (cf. vol. ii. p. 56):--

'Quae canit altis garrula ramis Ales, caueae clauditur antro: Huic licet illita pocula melle, Largasque dapes dulci studio Ludens hominum cura ministret, Si tamen, arto saliens tecto, Nemorum gratas uiderit umbras, Sparsis pedibus proterit escas, Siluas tantum maesta requirit, Siluas dulci uoce susurrat.'

Chaucer repeats the example yet a third time, in the Manciple's Tale, H. 163. Moreover, Jean de Meun copied the whole passage in Le Roman de la Rose, 14145.

617-1223. Eight leaves are here lost in MS. Hl.

618. _newefangel_, i. e. eager for novelty; of four syllables, as in l. 89 of the Manc. Tale, H. 193. The word _newefangelnesse_ will be found in the poem of Anelida, l. 141, and in Leg. of Good Wom., Prol. [386] 154. 'Be not _newfangil_ in no wise'; Babees Book, ed. Furnivall, p. 51, l. 115; cf. p. 9, l. 13. And see the Balade against Women Unconstant, l. 1 (vol. i. p. 409).

624. _kyte._ Mr. Jephson notes that 'the kite is a cowardly species of hawk, quite unfit for falconry, and was therefore the emblem of everything base.'

640. Compare ll. 153-155, which shew that Canace knew what herbs to choose.

644. _Blue_ was the colour of truth and constancy; hence the expression 'true blue'; cf. Cler. Tale, E. 254. _Green_ (l. 646) signified _inconstancy_. Lydgate, in his Fall of Princes, fol. _e_ 7, speaking of Dalilah, says--

'In stede of _blewe_, which stedefast is and clene, She louyd chaungys of many diuers _grene_.'

'True blue will never stain'; Proverb.

''Twas Presbyterian true blue'; Hudibras, i. i. 191.

Tyrwhitt draws attention to the Balade against Women Unconstant (in vol. i. p. 409), the burden of which is--

'In stede of _blew_, thus may ye were al _grene_.'

648. _tidifs._ The _tidif_ is mentioned as an inconstant bird in Prol. to Leg. G. W. l. 154--

'And tho that hadde doon unkindenesse As dooth the _tydif_, for newfangelnesse,' &c.

Drayton uses _tydy_ as the name of a small bird, Polyolb. xiii. 79; _not_ the wren, which is mentioned five lines above. In a piece called The Parlament of Byrdes, pr. for A. Kytson, one of the birds is called a _tytyfer_; see Hazlitt's Early Pop. Poetry, iii. 177. Schmeller gives _Zitzerl_ as the Bavarian name for a wren; but cf. E. _tit_.

649-650. These lines are transposed in Tyrwhitt's edition. Such a transposition makes the sense much clearer, beyond doubt. But I am not convinced that the confused construction in the text is not Chaucer's own. It is very like his manner. Cf. notes to ll. 376, 401.

667. Observe that _Cambalo_, if not inserted here in the MSS. by error, is quite a different person from the _Cambalus_ in l. 656 (called _Cambalo_ in l. 31). He is Canace's _lover_, who is to fight in the lists _against_ her brothers Cambalo and Algarsif, and win her. Spenser (F. Q. iv. 3) introduces three brethren as suitors for Canace, who have to fight against Cambello her brother; this is certainly not what Chaucer intended, nor is it very satisfactory.

671-672. Some suppose these two lines to be spurious. I believe them to be genuine; for they occur in MS. E. Hn. Cp. Pt., and others, and are not to be too lightly rejected. The Lansdowne MS. has _eight_ lines here, which are certainly spurious. In MS. E., after l. 672, the rest of the page is _blank_. The lines are quite intelligible, if we add the words _He entreth_. We then have--'Apollo (the sun) whirls up his chariot so highly (continues his course in the zodiac) till he enters the [387] mansion of the god Mercury, the cunning one'; the construction in the last line being similar to that in l. 209. The sun was described as in Aries, l. 51. By continuing his _upward_ course, i. e. his _Northward_ course, by which he approached the zenith daily, he would soon come to the sign Gemini, which was the mansion of Mercury. It is a truly Chaucerian way of saying that two months had elapsed. We may conclude that Chaucer just began the Third Part of this Tale, but never even finished the first sentence. It is worth noting that these two lines are imitated at the beginning of the (spurious) poem called The Flower and the Leaf; and in Skelton's Garland of Laurel, l. 1471.

THE WORDS OF THE FRANKLIN.

675. _youthe_ is a dissyllable; observe the rime with _allow the_, i. e. commend thee, which is written as one word (_allowthe_) in several MSS.

683. _pound_, i. e. pounds worth of land.

686. _possessioun_, i. e. property, wealth. Cf. D. 1722.

688. _and yet shal_, and shall still do so.

THE PROLOGUE OF THE FRANKLIN'S TALE.

709. _Britons_, Bretons, inhabitants of Brittany. Observe Chaucer's mention of _Armorik_ or Armorica in l. 729.

As to the existence of early Breton Lays, a fact which Ritson rashly denied in his anxiety to blame Warton (see Ritson, Met. Rom. iii. 332), the reader may consult Price's remarks in the latest edition of Warton, 1871, vol. i. 169-177. It cannot be doubted that the Lais of Marie de France were, in a large measure, founded upon Breton tales which she had heard or found recorded. Sir F. Madden refers us, for further information, to De la Rue's Essais sur les Bardes, &c., iii. 47-100; Robert, Fables Inédites, &c., i. clii-clix.; the Preface to Roman du Rénart; and Costello's Specimens of the Early Poetry of France, 43-49. The Lais of Marie de France were edited by Roquefort, Paris, 1820; and by Warnke, Halle, 1885. See further in vol. iii. p. 480.

721. _Pernaso_, Parnassus. The form is _Parnaso_ in Anelida, 16, and Ho. of Fame, 521; see also Troilus, iii. 1810, and my note to Anelida, 16. A side-note, in the margin of E., shews that Chaucer is here quoting a part of the first three lines of the Prologus to the Satires of Persius.

'Nec fonte labra prolui caballino, Neque in bicipiti somniasse _Parnasso_ Memini, ut repente sic poeta prodirem.'

722. _Cithero_, Cicero; spelt _Scithero_ in E. Hn., but _Cithero_ in Cp. Pt. Ln. The three latter MSS. stupidly insert _ne_ before _Cithero_, thus destroying both sense and metre, and tempting Mr. Wright to make the purely gratuitous suggestion, that Chaucer did it on purpose (!), in order to make the Frankeleyn appear really ignorant.

723. I. e. he knows no 'colours' of rhetoric; cf. F. 511. [388]

THE FRANKELEYNS TALE.

729. _Armorik_, Armorica, the modern Brittany.

743. A note in Bell says this is meant 'ironically.' On the contrary, it is explanatory, and in perfect keeping with the context. Cf. l. 751, and the full discussion of the matter in ll. 764-790.

764. This passage is clearly founded on Le Roman de la Rose, ll. 9465-9534, a piece which is too long to be quoted. Compare, for example, ll. 9479-9482:--

'Car il convient amor morrir Quant amant vuelent _seignorir_. Amors ne puet durer ne vivre, Se n'est en cuer franc et delivre.'

Compare also ll. 8489-90 of the same:--

'Qu'onques Amor et seignorie Ne s'entrefirent compaignie.'

And see Kn. Ta., A. 1625-6. Spenser copies ll. 764-6 very closely; F. Q. iii. 1. 25. And see Butler, Hudib. iii. 1. 553-560; Pope, Eloisa, 76.

774. So in P. Plowman, C. xvi. 138, we find _patientes uincunt_. The reference is to Dionysius Cato, Distichorum lib. i. 38:--

'Quem superare potes, interdum uince ferendo, Maxima enim morum semper patientia uirtus.'

And again, in his Breves Sententiae, Sent. xl., he has:--'Parentes patientia uince.' But Chaucer's words agree still more closely with an altered version of Cato which is quoted in Old Eng. Homilies, ed. Morris, 2 Ser. p. 80, in the form:--'Quem superare _nequis_, _patienter_ uince ferendo.' Compare the proverb--'uincit qui patitur'; also Vergil, Æn. v. 710; Ovid, Art. Amat. ii. 197, Am. iii. 11. 7, Am. i. 2. 10. See also Troil. iv. 1584.

792. This is from the same passage of Le Roman as that mentioned in the note to l. 764. Compare, for example, the following lines (9489-94), where _serjant_ means 'servant':--

'Car cil, quant par amor amoit, Serjant à cele se clamoit Qui sa mestresse soloit estre; Or se clame seignor et mestre Sur cele que dame ot clamée, Quant ele iert par amor amée.'

801. Penmarch Point is a headland near Quimper, in the department of Finisterre; a little to the S. of Brest.

Tyrwhitt's derivation of this name, from _pen_, a head, and _mark_, a mark or boundary, assumes that _mark_ is a Celtic word. No doubt _pen_ represents Bret. _penn_ (Welsh _pen_), a head, a promontory; but, instead of _mark_ I can only find Bret. _march_ (Welsh and Cornish _march_, Irish _marc_), a horse. In the sense of boundary, _mark_ is Teutonic. [389]

808. _Kayrrud_, Caer-rud; evidently an old Celtic name. _Caer_ is the Bret. _ker_, _kear_, a town; Welsh and Cornish _caer_, a fort, town. And perhaps _rud_ is 'red'; cf. Bret. _ruz_, Welsh _rhudd_, Cornish _rudh_, red. It does not appear in the map.

_Arveragus_, a Latinised form of a Celtic name; spelt _Aruiragus_ in Juvenal, Sat. iv. 127. Arviragus, son of Cymbeline, one of the fabulous kings of Britain, married a daughter of the Roman emperor Claudius; see Rob. of Glouc. l. 1450.

815. _Dorigene_; also a Celtic name. 'Droguen, or Dorguen, was the wife of Alain I.--Lobineau, t. i. p. 70.'--Tyrwhitt. Lobineau was the author of a history of Brittany.

830. Cf. 'Gutta cauat lapidem'; Ovid, Epist. iv. 10. 5.

861. Cf. 'That she ne hath foot on which she may sustene'; Anelida, 177.

867. _In ydel_, in vain. In P. Plowman, A. vi. 61, we have _in idel_, and in B. v. 580, _an ydel_, in the same sense. With this passage, cf. Boeth. bk. i. met. 5. 22; bk. iii. met. 9. 1-10.

879. Cf. 'a fayr party of so grete a werk'; Boeth. bk. i. met. 5. 38.

880. _thyn owene merk_, thine own likeness; cf. 'ad imaginem suam,' Gen. i. 27. It appears, from P. Plowman, B. xv. 343, C. xviii. 73, that the words _merke_ and _preynte_ (print) were both used of the 'impression' upon a coin. From a comparison of the Vulgate version of Gen. i. 27 and Matt. xxii. 20, we see that _imago_ was used in the same way. This explains how _merk_ came to mean 'likeness,' and how _mark of Adam_ (in D. 696) came to mean 'all such as are made in Adam's likeness.' See that passage.

883. _menes_, means, instruments of Thy will. The sing. _mene_, in the same sense, occurs in P. Plowman, C. xvii. 96, and frequently in Sir Generides, where it is spelt _meane_.

886. 'All's for the best'; a popular rendering of Romans, viii. 28. Cf. Boeth. bk. iv. pr. 6. 194-6.

889. _this_, short for _this is_; as in many other places.

899. _delitables_, a good example of a French pl. adj. in _s_. So also _royales_, B. 2038. See my note to P. Plowman, C. x. 342.

900. _ches_, chess. Chess was played in England even before the Conquest, in the days of Canute. 'Tables' is another name for backgammon, and was called _tabularum ludus_ in Latin. See Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, bk. iv. c. 2. §§ 4, 16.

913. _The odour_ is to be read as _Th'odóur_.

918. _At-after_, after; as in F. 302.

938. _Aurelius._ Tyrwhitt remarks that 'this name, though of Roman origin, was common, we may presume, among the Britons. One of the princes mentioned by Gildas was called _Aurelius Conanus_. Another British king is called _Aurelius Ambrosius_ by Geoffrey of Monmouth.' See Fabyan's History, pt. 1. capp. 93, 108.

942. _With-outen coppe_, without a cup. This expression means that he drank his penance in full measure, not by small quantities [390] at a time. It occurs again in the Prologue to the Tale of Beryn, ll. 306, 460.

948. Chaucer wrote such things himself; see Leg. of Good Women, 423, and the note. See also, in his Minor Poems, the Complaint of Mars, the roundel in the Parl. of Foules, 680; and the exquisite triple roundel called Merciles Beautè.

950. The syllables _as a fu-_ form the third foot. Some MSS. have _fuyre_, i. e. fire (see the footnote); but hell is not the place where fire was supposed to languish. The reading _furye_, i. e. fury, also presents some difficulty, but we must take _languish_ to mean 'endure continual pain.' This precisely agrees with Chaucer's language in Troilus, iv. 22-24.

We have already had a confusion between _fury_ and _fire_ in A. 2684. The reading _furie_ is perfectly established by help of F. 448 (this _furial_ pyne of _helle_), and by further comparing l. 1101 below.

951. _Ekko_, Echo. So in the Book of the Duch. 735. Chaucer probably took this from Le Rom. de la Rose, 1447; see the English version, ll. 1469-1538. But he had learnt, by this time, that the true original was Ovid (Metamorph. iii. 407). Hence the side-note in MS. E.--'Methamorposios'--(_sic_).

963. _And hadde_, and _she_ had; with a sudden change of subject.

974. _Madame_ is here trisyllabic; in l. 967, the last syllable is very light.

982. The _-ie_ in _Aurelie_ is slurred over; _know-e_ is dissyllabic. Cf. l. 989.

992. _Lok-e_, for _Lok-en_, imper. _plural_.

993. The first foot contains _Ye remoe-_; and the final _-e_ of _remoev-e_ is not cut off. Otherwise, place an accent on the syllable _re-_.

999-1000. These two lines are placed lower down in Tyrwhitt's edition, after l. 1006, on the authority of three inferior MSS., viz. Harl. 7335, Harl. 7333, and Barlow 20. But the old editions agree with the best MSS., and nothing is gained by the change.

1018. A humorous apology for a poetical expression.

1031. A side-note in E. has--'The compleint of Aurelius to the goddes and to the sonne.'

1033. _after_, i. e. according to. The change of seasons depends on the sun's change of declination, which causes his position (called _herberwe_ or 'harbour' in l. 1035) to be high or low in the sky. See note to l. 1058.

1045. In MS. E., _Lucina_ is glossed by 'luna,' i. e. the moon; see A. 2085.

1049. Read _knowen_ as _know'n_. All the six MSS. keep the final _n_; but Cp. Pt. Ln. drop the word _that_.

1054. _more and lesse_, greater and smaller, i. e. rivers.

1058. _Leoun_, the sign Leo. In l. 906, May 6 is mentioned, and the events recorded in ll. 906-1016 all belong to this day. Ll. 1019-1081 belong to the evening of the same day. But, in May, the sun is in [391] Taurus, and the moon, when in opposition, would be in the _opposite_ sign, which is Scorpio; and we should expect the reading--'of Scorpioun.' As it stands, the text means:--'at the next opposition that takes place with the sun in Leo'; i. e. not at the _very_ next opposition, with the sun in Taurus; nor yet after that, with the sun in Gemini or Cancer. The reason for the delay is astrological; for Leo was the _mansion_ of the Sun, so that the sun's power would then be greatest; besides which, the sign Leo greatly increased a planet's influence; see A. 2462, and the note.

We may notice the various allusions in the above lines. In l. 1033, the sun's declination changes from day to day, and with it the solar power and heat; so that the vegetable kingdom fails or grows according as the sun's 'harbour,' or position in the ecliptic, causes his meridian altitude to be low or high (l. 1035). In l. 1046, the power of the moon over the tides is mentioned; and, in l. 1050, the dependence of lunar upon solar light. The highest tides occur when the sun and moon are either in conjunction or opposition; the latter is here fixed upon. If, says Aurelius, the sun and moon could always _remain_ in opposition, viz. by moving at the same apparent rate (l. 1066), the moon would always remain at the full (l. 1069), and the spring-flood, or highest flood, would last all the while (l. 1070).

1074. Here Luna is identified with Proserpina; see note to A. 2051, where I have quoted the sentence--'Diana, quae et _Luna, Proserpina_, Hecate nuncupatur.' And see the parallel lines in A. 2081-2.

1077. _Delphos_, Delphi; Chaucer adopts, as usual, the accusative form. Ovid has _Delphi_, Met. x. 168; _Delphica templa_, Met. xi. 414.

1086. 'Let him choose, as far as I am concerned, whether he wishes to live or die.' _whether_ is here cut down to _whe'r_, as frequently.

1088. Cf. 'And in his host of chivalrye the flour'; A. 982.

1094-1096. _imaginatyf_, of a suspicious fancy. _doute_, fear.

1110. This is the Pamphilus already referred to in B. 2746 (see note to that line). The poem relates the poet's love for Galatea. In the note to B. 2746, I have given the title of the poem as _De Amore_. Another title is--Pamphili Mauriliani Pamphilus, sive De Arte Amandi Elegiae. Skelton alludes to it also, and Dyce's note (in his ed. of Skelton, ii. 345) tells us--'It is of considerable length, and though written in barbarous Latin, was by some attributed to Ovid. It may be found in a little volume edited by Goldastus, Ovidii Nasonis Pelignensis Erotica et Amatoria Opuscula, &c. 1610.' Tyrwhitt quotes the first four lines, from MS. Cotton, Titus A. xx--'Vulneror, et clausum porto sub pectore telum,' &c. In the margin of E. is here written--'Pamphilus ad Galatheam,' followed by the line--'Vulneror ... telum.' Chaucer imitates this line in ll. 1111, 1112. And see Lounsbury, Studies, ii. 370.

1113. _sursanure_, a wound healed outwardly only. A F. word, from Lat. _super_ and _sanare_. See _soursanëure_ in Godefroy.

1115. _But_, unless. _come therby_, get at it, get hold of it.

1118. 'There was a celebrated and very ancient university at Orleans, [392] which fell into disrepute as the university of Paris became famous; and the rivalry probably led to the imputation that the occult sciences were cultivated at Orleans.'--Wright.

1121. 'In every hiding-place and corner'; cf. G. 311, 658.

1130. I here quote from my Preface to Chaucer's Astrolabe (E. E. T. S.), p. lix. 'The twenty-eight "moon-stations" of the Arabs are given in Ideler's Untersuchungen über die Bedeutung der Sternnamen, p. 287. He gives the Arabic names, the stars that help to fix their positions, &c. See also Mr. Brae's edition of the Astrolabe, p. 89. For the influence of the moon in these mansions, we must look elsewhere, viz. in lib. i. cap. 11, and lib. iv. cap. 18 of the Epitome Astrologiae of Johannes Hispalensis. Suffice it to say that there are 12 temperate mansions, 6 dry ones, and 10 moist ones.' The number 28 corresponds with the number of days in a lunation.

1132. Cf. Chaucer's remark in his Astrolabe, ii. 4. 36--'Natheles, thise ben observauncez of iudicial matiere and rytes of payens, _in which my spirit ne hath no feith_.'

1133. In speaking of the First Commandment, Hampole says: 'Astronomyenes byhaldes the daye and the houre and the poynte that man es borne in, and vndir whylke syngne he es borne, and the poynte that he begynnes to be in, and by thire syngnes, and other, thay saye that that sall befall the man aftyrwarde; but theyre errowre es reproffede of haly doctours.'--Eng. Prose Treatises of Hampole, ed. Perry, p. 9. So also in Religious Pieces in Prose and Verse, ed. Perry, p. 5.

1141. _tregetoures_, jugglers. Cf. F. 218, 219; Hous of Fame, 1260, and my note upon the line; also the same, 1277, and my note on it. From O. F. _trasgeter_, (Prov. _trasgitar_), answering to a Low Lat. _transiectare_, i. e. to throw across, cause to pass. Thus the original sense of _tregetour_ was one who caused rapid changes, by help of some mechanical contrivance. See Marco Polo, ed. Yule, i. 342; and note 9 to Bk. i. c. 61; Cornelius Agrippa, on Juggling; Ritson, Anc. Met. Romances, vol. i. p. ccv; and the verses on the Tregetour in Lydgate's Dance of Machabre. _Treget_ means imposture, juggling, deceit, in the E. version of the Romaunt of the Rose, 6267, 6312, 6825; and _tregetrie_ means the same, 6374, 6382. (Not allied to _trebuchet_, as suggested by Tyrwhitt.)

1180. _dawes_, days; variant of _dayes_. The pl. _dawes_ occurs here only; but _dayes_ rimes with _layes_ in l. 709 above, with _delayes_ in l. 1293 below, and (in the phr. _now a dayes_) with _Iayes_, G. 1396, and _assayes_, E. 1164. Chaucer also has _dawe_, v., to dawn, riming with _felawe_, A. 4250, and _awe_, B. 3872. The variant _dawes_ is due to the A. S. _dagas_, where the _g_ is followed, not by _e_, but by _a_; hence we only find it in the plural. But it is not uncommon; it occurs in St. Brandan, ed. Wright, p. 5, l. 3; Havelok, 2344; King Alisaunder, ed. Weber, l. 1436; Gower, Conf. Am. ii. 113, where it rimes with _sawes_; &c.

1204. The use of _our_ is graphic; it occurs in all six MSS. Tyrwhitt has _the_.

1222. _Gerounde_, the river Gironde; _Sayne_, the Seine. That is, all [393] the S.W. coast from the Gironde to Brest, and all the N.W. coast from Brest to Honfleur; thus including much more than just the W. promontory.

1224. Here ceases the gap in Hl., F. 617-1223.

1241. Accent _mágicién_ on the first and last syllables.

1245. 'The sun grew old, and his hue was like that of latten.' For _latoun_, later _latten_, see note to C. 350. That is, the sun had a dull coppery hue, as in December, when it may be said to be 'old,' as it was approaching the end of its annual course. Cf. _yonge sonne_; A. 7.

1246. 'Who, when in his hot declination (i. e. in the sign of Cancer, when his northern declination was greatest) used to shine like burnished gold, with bright beams; but he had now arrived in Capricornus, where he was at his lowest altitude (i. e. at the winter solstice); and shone but dimly.'

In Chaucer's time, the sun entered Capricorn on December 13; see his Treatise on the Astrolabe, ii. 1. 12.

1252. In the margin of E. is written--'Janus biceps'; referring to 'Iane biceps' in Ovid's Fasti, i. 65; and 'Iane biformis,' id. l. 89. The allusion is to the approach of January, after the winter solstice. This season, as indicated in ll. 1253, 1254, is the time of Christmas and New-Year festivities, when wine is drunk from horns, and the boar's head appears at feasts. See Brand's Pop. Antiq., ed. Ellis, i. 484, for the carol sung at the bringing in of the boar's head as the first dish on Christmas day, as e.g. in the Inner Temple and at Queen's College, Oxford. He quotes from Dekker:--'like so many bores' heads stuck with branches of rosemary, to be served in _for brawne_ at Christmas.'

Skelton speaks of 'Ianus, with his double chere,' i. e. face; Garl. of Laurell, 1515. Cf. Chambers, Book of Days, i. 19; and ii. 754; Spenser, F. Q. vii. 7. 41.

1255. '_Nowel_,' i. e. 'the birthday,' or Christmas day. From O. F. _noël_ (Prov. _nadal_); from Lat. _natalem_. Cotgrave quotes a French proverb:--'Tant crie on Noël qu'il vient, So long is Christmas cried that at length it comes.' Littré gives, as the second sense of _Noël_--'Cantique en langue vulgaire, ayant ordinairement pour sujet la naissance de Jésus-Christ, que l'on chante à l'approche de la Noël.' Hence 'to cry Noël' was to sing a Christmas carol; as was usual on Christmas eve. He further explains that 'Noël!' subsequently became a cry on _any_ occasion of great rejoicing; so that, in this way, 'to cry Noël' meant to proclaim glad tidings. Hence the silly confusion of the word with '_nouvelles_,' in the imaginative accounts of it given by some English writers.

1266. Read _I n' can_; see note to A. 764.

1273. 'The astronomical tables, composed by order of Alphonso X, king of Castile, about the middle of the thirteenth century, were called sometimes _Tabulae Toletanae_, from their being adapted to the city of Toledo. There is a very elegant copy of them in MS. Harl. 3647.'--T. [394] In Chaucer's Astrolabe, ii. 44. 16, we find:--'And if hit so be that hit [i. e. the time for which the change in a planet's position is being reckoned] passe 20 [years], consider wel that fro 1 to 20 ben _anni expansi_, and fro 20 to 3,000 ben _anni collecti_.' The changes in position of the various planets were obtained from these tables. The quantities denoting the amount of a planet's motion during _round periods_ of years, such as twenty, forty, or sixty years, were entered in a table headed _Anni collecti_. Similar quantities for lesser periods, from one year up to twenty years, were entered under the headings 1, 2, 3, &c.; and such years were called _Anni expansi_, i. e. single or separate years. See Ptolemy's Almagest, lib. vi. and lib. ix.; and the note in vol. iii. p. 367.

1276. _rotes_, roots. The 'root' is the tabulated quantity belonging to a given fixed date or era, from which corresponding quantities can be calculated by addition or subtraction. Thus the longitude of a planet at a given date is the 'root'; and its longitude at another date, say twenty-three years later, can be obtained from the Toletan tables by adding (1) its change of longitude in twenty years, as given in the table of _Anni collecti_, and (2) its further change in three years, as given in the table of _Anni expansi_. Chaucer uses the term 'root' again in B. 314; and in his Astrolabe, ii. 44. 1; q.v.

1277. 'Centre' was a technical name for the end of the small brass projection on the 'rete' of an astrolabe which denoted the position of a fixed star (usually of the first magnitude). See Chaucer's Astrolabe, Fig. 2 (in vol. iii.); and _Centre_ in the Glossary. 'Argument' is an astronomical term still in use, and means 'the angle, arc, or other mathematical quantity, from which another required quantity may be deduced, or on which its calculation depends'; New Eng. Dictionary.

In Chaucer's Astrolabe, § 44 of Part II. is headed--'Another maner conclusion, to knowe the mene mote and the _argumentis_ of any planete.'

1278. _proporcionels convenients_, fitting proportionals; referring to a table of 'proportional parts,' by which fractional parts of a year can be taken into consideration, in calculating the motions of the planets.

1279. _equacions_, equations; probably here used in the sense of 'exact quantities.' Thus the 'exact quantity' of a planet's motion, during a given time, can be obtained by adding together the motion during the 'collect' years, the 'expanse' years, and the fraction of a year; see the last note.

1280. _eighte spere_, eighth sphere; cf. 'ninthe speere' in l. 1283. In the old astronomy (as explained more fully in the note to B. 295), there were nine imaginary spheres, viz. the seven spheres of the seven planets, the eighth sphere or sphere of fixed stars (supposed to have a slow motion from west to east about the poles of the zodiac, to account for the precession of the equinoxes), and the ninth sphere or _primum mobile_, which had a diurnal motion from east to west, and carried [395] everything with it. _Alnath_ is still a name for the bright star [alpha] Arietis, of the first magnitude, which was necessarily situate in the eighth sphere. But the head of the _fixed_ Aries, or the true equinoctial point, was in the ninth sphere above it.

The exact amount of the precession of the equinoxes (which is what Chaucer here alludes to) could be ascertained by observing, from time to time, the distance between the true equinoctial point and the star Alnath, which was conveniently situated for the purpose, being in the head of Aries. In the time of Hipparchus (B.C. 150), the distance of Alnath from the true equinoctial point was but a few degrees; but at the present time it is 'shove,' in longitude, some 35° from the same. (The readings _thre_ for _eighte_ in l. 1280, and _fourthe_ for _ninthe_ in l. 1283, given by Wright from MS. Hl., are of course absurd).

1285. _firste mansioun_, first mansion, viz. of the moon. It was called _Alnath_, from the star. In the margin of E. is written--'Alnath dicitur prima mansio lunae.' Cf. note to l. 1130; and see l. 1289. His object was, clearly, to calculate the moon's position; see l. 1287.

1288. 'And knew in whose "face" the moon arose, and in what "term," and all about it.' Each sign of the zodiac, containing thirty degrees, was divided into three equal parts, each of ten degrees, called _faces_ in the astrological jargon of the time. Not only each _sign_, but each _face_, was assigned to some peculiar planet; hence _whos_ means 'of which planet.' Besides this equal division of each sign, we find unequal divisions, called _terms_. For example, the sign Aries, considered as a whole, was called 'the mansion of Mars.' Again, of this sign, degrees one to ten were called 'the face of Mars'; degrees eleven to twenty, 'the face of the Sun'; and degrees twenty-one to thirty, 'the face of Venus.' Lastly, of the same sign, degrees one to six were 'a term of Jupiter'; degrees seven to twelve, of Venus; degrees thirteen to twenty, of Mercury; twenty-one to twenty-five, of Mars; and twenty-six to thirty, of Saturn. Of course, the whole of this assignment was purely fanciful, imposed at first by arbitrary authority, and afterwards kept up by tradition. Cf. l. 1293.

1311-1322. These lines form a 'Complaint,' quite in the style of the Compleint of Anelida, q.v. Thus, l. 1318 is like Anelida, l. 288:--'As verily ye sleen me with the peyne.' The 'complaint' of Dorigen begins at l. 1355.

1340. 'Other colour then asshen hath she noon'; Anelida, 173.

1348. 'She wepeth, waileth, swowneth pitously'; Anelida, 169.

1355. In the margin of E. is written--'The compleynt of Dorigene ayeyns Fortune.'

1367. Tyrwhitt remarks that all these examples are taken from book i. of Hieronymus contra Iouinianum. In fact, this reference is expressly supplied in the margin of E., at l. 1465, where we find--'Singulas has historias et plures, hanc materiam concernentes, recitat beatus Ieronimus contra Iouinianum in primo suo libro, cap. 39°.' There is a similar note in Hn., at l. 1395. [396]

On reference to Jerome, I find that the passages referred to are worthy of being expressly quoted, especially as Chaucer does not adhere to the order of the original. Moreover, most of them are quoted in the side-notes to E., with more or less correctness. I therefore give below all such as are worth giving.

1368. The passage in Jerome is as follows:--'Triginta Atheniensium tyranni cum Phidonem in conuiuio necassent, filias eius uirgines ad se uenire iusserunt, et scortorum more nudari: ac super pauimenta, patris sanguine cruentata, impudicis gestibus ludere, quae paulisper dissimulato doloris habitu, cum temulentos conuiuas cernerent, quasi ad requisita naturae egredientes, inuicem se complexae praecipitauerunt in puteum, ut uirginitatem morte seruarent'; p. 48. This story (quoted in full in MS. E.) refers to the excesses committed in Athens by the Thirty Tyrants, who were overthrown by Thrasybulus, B.C. 403.

1370. 'They commanded (men) to arrest his daughters.'

1379. Jerome has:--'Spartiatae et Messenii diu inter se habuere amicitias, intantum ut ob quaedam sacra etiam uirgines ad se mutuo mitterent. Quodam igitur tempore, cum quinquaginta uirgines Lacedaemoniorum Messenii uiolare tentassent, de tanto numero ad stuprum nulla consensit, sed omnes libentissime pro pudicitia occubuerunt'; p. 48. Cf. Orosius, i. 14. 1.

1380. _Lacedomie_, Lacedaemonia; as in C. 605.

1387. Jerome has:--'Aristoclides Orchomeni tyrannus adamauit uirginem Stymphalidem, quae cum patre occiso ad templum Dianae confugisset, et simulacrum eius teneret, nec ui posset auelli, in eodem loco confossa est'; p. 48. I suppose that Orchomenus is here the town so called in Arcadia, rather than the more famous one in Boeotia; for the district of Stymphalus is in Arcadia, and near Orchomenus.

1399. Jerome has:--'Nam Hasdrubalis uxor capta, et incensa urbe, cum se cerneret a Romanis capiendam esse, apprehensis ab utroque latere paruulis filiis, in subiectum domus suae deuolauit incendium'; Valerius Maximus has a similar story, lib. iii. c. 2. ext. 8; cf. Orosius, iv. 13. 3. Chaucer has already alluded to this story; see note to B. 4553.

1402. _alle_; Valerius Maximus merely says--'dextra laeuaque communes filios trahens.'

1405. Jerome says:--'Ad Romanas foeminas transeam, et primam ponam Lucretiam; quae uiolatae pudicitiae pudens superuiuere, maculam corporis cruore deleuit'; p. 50. In the margin of E. we find:--'primo ponam Lucretiam ... deleuit'; with the reading _nolens_ for _pudens_. See also the legend of Lucretia in the Legend of Good Women.

1409. Jerome says:--'Quis ualeat silentio praeterire septem Milesias uirgines, quae Gallorum impetu cuncta uastante, ne quid indecens ab hostibus sustinerent, turpitudinem morte fugerunt; exemplum sui cunctis uirginibus relinquentes, honestis mentibus magis pudicitiam curae esse, quam uitam'; p. 50. MS. E. quotes this as far as 'Gallorum.' As Miletus is in Caria, perhaps _Galli_ refers here to the Gallograeci or Galatae. [397]

1414. 'Xenophon in Cyri maioris scribit infantia, occiso Abradote uiro, quem Panthea uxor miro amore dilexerat, collocasse se iuxta corpus lacerum; et confosso pectore, sanguinem suum mariti infudisse uulneribus'; p. 50. MS. E. cites the first eight words of this, with the spelling _Abradate_; whence Chaucer's _Habradate_. Chaucer's account of Panthea's exclamation is evidently imaginary. The story is told at length in Xenophon's Cyropaedia, bk. vii. Abradates, king of the Susi, was killed in battle against the Egyptians. His wife Panthea slew herself with a dagger, and fell with her head upon his breast.

1426. 'Demotionis Areopagitarum principis uirgo filia, audito sponsi Leosthenis interitu, qui bellum Lamiacum concitarat, se interfecit: asserens quanquam intacta esset corpore, tamen si alterum accipere cogeretur, quasi secundum acciperet, cum priori mente nupsisset'; p. 48. E. quotes the first five words of this.

1428. 'Quo ore laudandae sunt Scedasi filiae in Leuctris Boeotiae, quas traditum est absente patre duo iuuenes praetereuntes iure hospitii suscepisse. Qui multum indulgentes uino, uim per noctem intulere uirginibus. Quae amissae pudicitiae nolentes superuiuere, mutuis conciderunt uulneribus'; p. 48. E. quotes the first six words, with the spelling _Cedasii_. The story of Scedasus ([Greek: Skedasos]) and his daughters is told at length by Plutarch, being the third story in his Amatoriae Narrationes ([Greek: erôtikai diêgêseis]).

1432. 'Nicanor uictis Thebis atque subuersis, unius uirginis captiuae amore superatus est. Cuius coniugium expetens, et uoluntarios amplexus, quod scilicet captiua optare debuerat, sensit pudicis mentibus plus uirginitatem esse quàm regnum; et interfectam propria manu, flens et lugens amator tenuit'; p. 49. E. cites a few words of this, with the spelling _Nichanor_. The reference is to the taking of Thebes by Alexander, B.C. 336. Nicanor was one of his officers.

1434. This story, in Jerome, immediately follows the former:--'Narrant scriptores Graeci et aliam Thebanam uirginem, quam hostis Macedo corruperat, dissimulasse paulisper dolorem, et uiolatorem uirginitatis suae iugulasse postea dormientem; seque interfecisse gladio, ut nec uiuere uoluerit post perditam castitatem, nec ante mori, quàm sui ultrix existeret.' E. quotes a few words of this.

1437. Chaucer has translated here very literally. For Jerome has:--'Quid loquar Nicerati coniugem? quae impatiens iniuriae uiri, mortem sibi ipsa consciuit; ne triginta tyrannorum, quos Lysander uictis Athenis imposuerat, libidinem substineret'; p. 49. Compare Plutarch's Life of Lysander. Niceratus, son of Nicias, was put to death by the Thirty Tyrants, who were imposed upon Athens by Lysander, B.C. 404.

1439. 'Alcibiades ille Socraticus, uictis Atheniensibus, fugit ad Pharnabacum [i. e. Pharnabazum]. Qui accepto precio à Lysandro principe Lacedaemoniorum, iussit eum interfici. Cumque suffocato caput esset ablatum, et missum Lysandro in testimonium caedis expletae, reliqua pars corporis iacebat insepulta. Sola igitur concubina [398] contra crudelissimi hostis imperium inter extraneos et imminente discrimine, funeri iusta persoluit; mori parata pro mortuo, quem uiuum dilexerat'; pp. 49, 50. E. quotes the first four words. See Plutarch's Life of Alcibiades; or the extracts from it in my edition of 'Shakespeare's Plutarch,' p. 304. The woman's name was Timandra; cf. Timon of Athens, iv. 3.

1442-4. Jerome says:--'Alcestin fabulae ferunt pro Admeto sponte defunctam, et Penelopes pudicitia Homeri carmen est'; p. 50. Quoted in E., with the spellings _Alcesten_, _Adameto_, and _Omeri_. Cf. Legend of Good Women, l. 432, and the note; also vol. iii. p. xxix.

1445. 'Laodamia quoque poetarum ore cantatur, occiso apud Troiam Protesilao, noluisse superuiuere'; p. 50. E. quotes most of this, with the spellings _Lacedomia_ and _Protheselao_. See Ovid, Heroid. Ep. xiii.; Hyginus, Fabula 243.

1448. 'Sine Catone uiuere Martia potuit, Portia sine Bruto non potuit'; p. 50. Partly quoted in E. The death of Portia is told by Plutarch, at the very end of his Life of M. Brutus.

1451. 'Artemisia quoque uxor Mausoli insignis pudicitiae fuisse perhibetur. Quae cum esset regina Cariae ... defunctum maritum sic semper amauit, ut uiuum, et mirae magnitudinis exstruxit sepulchrum; intantum, ut usque hodie omnia sepulchra preciosa ex nomine eius _Mausolaea_ nuncupentur'; p. 49. E. quotes a part of this, with the spelling _Arthemesia_. There is an account of her in Valerius Maximus, bk. iv. cap. 6. ext. I. Hence comes our word _mausoleum_.

1452. _Barbarye_, barbarian territory, heathendom. Cf. 'the Barbre nacioun'; B. 281.

1453. Jerome says:--'Teuta Illyricorum regina, ut longo tempore uiris fortissimis imperaret, et Romanos saepe frangeret, miraculo utique meruit castitatis'; p. 49. Called _Teutana_ by Florus, ii. 5. 2. Pliny says that Teuta, the queen of the Illyrians, put to death some Roman ambassadors; Nat. Hist. xxxiv. 6. 11.

1455. Tyrwhitt omits this line and the next. Both lines appear in the old editions; but they are omitted in all the seven MSS. except E. They are certainly genuine, because the names in them are taken from Jerome, like the rest. E. has the spelling _Bilyea_, but I alter it to _Bilia_ (as in the old editions) because such is Jerome's spelling. The story is rather a long one.

'Duellius, qui primus Romae nauali certamine triumphauit, Biliam uirginem duxit uxorem, tantae pudicitiae, ut illo quoque seculo pro exemplo fuerit: quo impudicitia monstrum erat, non uitium. Is iam senex et trementi corpore, in quodam iurgio audiuit exprobrari sibi os foetidum, et tristis se domum contulit. Cumque uxori questus esset, quare nunquam se monuisset, ut huic uitio mederetur: Fecissem, inquit, illa, nisi putassem omnibus uiris sic os olere. Laudanda in utroque pudica et nobilis foemina, et si ignorauit uitium uiri, et si patienter tulit, et quod maritus infelicitatem corporis sui, non uxoris fastidio, sed maledicto sensit inimici'; p. 50. This Duellius or Duillius, [399] or Duilius, was the famous conqueror of the Carthaginians, in honour of whom the _Columna rostrata_ was erected, to celebrate his naval victory, the first of that character ever gained by the Romans, B.C. 260. See Florus, Epitome, lib. ii. c. 2.

Hoccleve has this story in his De Regimine Principum, ed. Wright, p. 134. He turns _Bilia_ into _Ulye_, because he got the story from Jacobus de Cessolis, who calls her _Ylia_.

1456. Jerome says:--'Rhodogune filia Darii, post mortem uiri, nutricem quae illi secundas nuptias suadebat, occidit'; p. 50. According to Erasmus, Rhodogune is mentioned in the _Imagines_ [Greek: Eikones] of Flavius Philostratus.

Again (at p. 50) Jerome says:--'Valeria, Messalarum soror, amisso Seruio uiro, nulli uolebat nubere. Quae interrogata cur hoc faceret, ait sibi semper maritum Seruium uiuere.'

1457. Notwithstanding the length of Dorigene's complaint, Chaucer seems to have contemplated adding more examples to the list. For in the margin of E. is the note:--'Mem. Strato regulus. Vidi et omnes pene Barbares (_sic_); cap. xxvi^o. primi [libri]. Item, Cornelia, &c. Imitentur ergo nupte Theanam, Cleobiliam, Gorgun., Thymodiam, Claudias atque Cornelias; in fine primi libri.' All these names are in Jerome, who says: 'Imitentur ergo nuptae Theano, Cleobulinam, Gorguntem, Timocliam, Claudias atque Cornelias'; &c.

1470. _as wis_, as (it is) certain; cf. Ancren Riwle, p. 38; Ormulum, l. 2279, &c. Stratmann (ed. Bradley) gives the example _also wis so he god is_, as surely as he is God. Of course the _i_ is short, as _wis_ rimes with _this_. Cf. A. S. _ge-wis_, _ge-wiss_, Icel. _viss_, adj., certain, sure. And see _wisly_, i. e. certainly, in l. 1475.

1472. Referring to the proverb--'Let sleeping dogs lie'; or to one with the same sense. Cf. Troil. iii. 764.

1483. _tel_ is here the right form of the imperative; see l. 1591. So in D. 1298.

1493-8. Of our seven MSS., only E. contains these six lines. They are omitted in most modern editions, except Gilman's. But they occur, as Tyrwhitt pointed out, in the second edition printed by Caxton. In l. 1496, Caxton has _him_ for _hir_; which, perhaps, is better.

1502. _quikkest_, most lively, i. e. most frequented.

1503. _boun_, all ready, prepared; _as she was boun_ implies that she had already set out, and was on her way. Preserved in mod. E., in the form _bound_, in such phrases as 'the ship is _bound_ for New York.' See _Bound_, pp., in the New E. Dictionary. Cf. l. 1505.

1525. _For which_, for which reason, wherefore.

1529-1531. The phrases _him were lever_ and _I have lever_ are here seen to have been both in use at the same time. See, again, ll. 1599, 1600 below.

1532. _Than I departe_, than that I may part. So in all seven MSS. T. altered _I_ to _to_.

1541. 'But let every woman beware of her promise.' [400]

1544. _withouten drede_, without doubt; as in B. 196. So also _out of drede_, E. 634; _it is no drede_, F. 1612.

1575. _dayes_, days of respite, time to pay in by instalments.

1580. _To goon a-begged_, to go a begging. Here _begged_ is for _beggeth_, a sb. formed from the verb _to beg_. The spelling _gon a-beggeth_ actually occurs twice in the Ilchester MS. of P. Plowman, C. ix. 138, 246. In the latter case, we even find _gon abribeth and abeggeth_, i. e. go a-robbing and a-begging. So in Rob. of Gloucester, l. 7710--'As he rod _an-honteth_,' as he rode a-hunting; and l. 9113--'he wende _an-honteth_,' he went a-hunting. This suffix _-eth_ answers to the A. S. _-aþ_ or _-oþ_. 'On f[=e]awum st[=o]wum w[=i]ciaþ Finnas, on huntoþe on wintra, and on sumera on fiscaþe'; the Fins live in a few places, by hunting in winter, and by fishing in summer; Ælfred's tr. of Orosius, 1. 1. In M. E. _-eth_ was changed to _-ed_ by confusion with the common suffix of the pp. See also the notes to C. 406, D. 354; and to P. Plowm. C. ix. 138.

1602. _apparence_, an illusion caused by magic.

1604-5. Corruptly given in MS. Hl. (note by Wright).

1614. I. e. 'as if you had just made your first appearance in the world.' An idiomatic allusion to the creeping of an insect out of the earth for the first time. It is obvious that there was nothing offensive in the phrase.

1622. _as thinketh yow_, as it seems to you. 'The same question is stated in the conclusion to Boccace's Tale; Philocopo, lib. v.--"Dubitasi ora qual di costoro fusse maggior liberalità," &c. The Queen determines in favour of the husband.'--T. The questions discussed in the medieval Courts of Love were usually of a similar character.

* * * * *

[401]

NOTES TO GROUP G.

THE SECOND NONNES TALE.

For general remarks on this Tale, see vol. iii. p. 485. Chaucer chiefly follows the Legenda Aurea; see note to l. 84 below, and to l. 25. It further appears that he consulted another Latin life of St. Cecilia, derived from Simeon Metaphrastes; as well as the Lives of Valerian and Tiburtius, in the Acta Sanctorum (April 14). See note to l. 369.

PROLOGUE. This consists of twelve stanzas, and is at once divisible into three parts.

(1) The first four stanzas, the idea of which is taken from Jehan de Vignay's Introduction to his French translation of the Legenda Aurea. This Introduction is reprinted at length, from the Paris edition of 1513, in the Originals and Analogues published by the Chaucer Society, pt. ii. p. 190.

(2) The Invocation to the Virgin, in stanzas 5-11; see note to ll. 29, 36.

(3) An Envoy to the reader, in stanza 12; see note to l. 78.

Line 1. Jehan de Vignay attributes the idea of this line to St. Bernard. He says--'Et pour ce que oysiuete est tant blasmee que sainct Bernard dit qu'elle est _mere de truffes_ [mother of trifles], marrastre de vertus: ... et fait estaindre vertu et _nourrir orgueil_,' &c. Chaucer says again, in his Persones Tale (de Accidia), I. 710:--'And how that ignoraunce be moder of alle harme, certes, _necligence is the norice_.'

2. _ydelnesse_, idleness; considered as a branch of Sloth, which was one of the Seven Deadly Sins. See The Persones Tale, _De Accidia_.

3. Chaucer took this idea from the Romaunt of the Rose; see ll. 528-594 of the English version, where a lover is described as knocking at the wicket of a garden, which was opened by a beautiful maiden named Idleness. He afterwards repeated it in the Knightes Tale, A. 1940; and again in the Persones Tale (de Accidia), I. 714: 'Thanne comth ydelnesse, that is the yate [_gate_] of alle harmes ... the hevene is yeven to hem that wol labouren, and nat to ydel folk.'

4. _To eschue_, to eschew; the gerund. The sentence really begins with l. 6, after which take the words _to eschue_; then take ll. 1-3, followed by the rest of l. 4 and by l. 5. [402]

7. Jehan de Vignay's Introduction begins thus: 'Monseigneur sainct Hierosme dit ceste auctorite--"Fays tousiours aucune chose de bien, que le dyable ne te trouue oyseux."' That is, he refers us to St. Jerome for the idea. A like reference is given in the Ayenbite of Inwyt, p. 206. We are reminded, too, of the familiar lines by Dr. Watts--

'For Satan finds some mischief still For idle hands to do.'

8. Cf. Persones Tale (de Accidia), I. 714:--'An ydel man is lyk to a place that hath no walles; the develes may entre on every syde.'

10. 'Ydelnesse is the develis panter [_net_], to tempte men to synne'; Wyclif, Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 200.

14. Cf. Pers. Tale (de Accidia), I. 689:--'Agayns this roten-herted sinne of accidie and slouthe sholde men exercise hemself to doon gode werkes'; &c. 'Laborare est orare' was the famous motto of St. Bernard.

15. _though men dradden never_, even if men never feared.

17. _roten_, rotten; Wright reads _rote of_, i. e. root of. Yet his MS. has _roten_; observe its occurrence in the note to l. 14 above.

19. 'And (men also) see that Sloth holds her in a leash, (for her) to do nothing but sleep, and eat and drink, and devour all that others obtain by toil.' The reading _hir_ refers to Idleness, which, as I have before explained, was a branch of Sloth, and was personified by a female. See notes to ll. 2 and 3 above. Tyrwhitt has _hem_, which is not in any of our seven MSS.

21. Compare Piers Plowman, B. prol. 21, 22--

'In settyng and in sowyng · swonken ful harde, And wonnen that wastours · with glotonye destruyeth.'

25. _After the legende_, following the Legend; i. e. the Legenda Aurea. A very small portion is wholly Chaucer's own. He has merely added a line here and there, such as ll. 488-497, 505-511, 535, 536. At l. 346 he begins to be less literal; see notes to 380, 395, 443.

27. St. Cecilia and St. Dorothea are both depicted with garlands. Mrs. Jameson tells us how to distinguish them in her Sacred and Legendary Art, 3rd ed. 591. She also says, at p. 35--'The wreath of roses on the brow of St. Cecilia, the roses or fruits borne by St. Dorothea, are explained by the legends.' And again, at p. 36--'White and red roses expressed love and innocence, or love and wisdom, as in the garland with which the angels crown St. Cecilia.' _Red_ was the symbol of love, divine fervour, &c.; _white_, of light, purity, innocence, virginity. See ll. 220, 244, 279. The legend of St. Dorothea forms the subject of Massinger's Virgin Martyr.

29. _virgin-es_ must be a trisyllable here; such words are often shortened to a dissyllable. The word _thou_ is addressed to the Virgin Mary. In the margin of MSS. E. and Hn. is written--'Inuocatio ad Mariam.'

30. Speaking of St. Bernard, Mrs. Jameson says--'One of his most [403] celebrated works, the _Missus est_, was composed in her honour [i. e. in honour of the Virgin] as Mother of the Redeemer; and in eighty Sermons on texts from the Song of Solomon, he set forth her divine perfection as the Selected and Espoused, the type of the Church on earth'; Legends of the Monastic Orders, 2nd ed. p. 144. Cf. note to l. 58.

See a further illustration of the great favour shewn by the Virgin to St. Bernard at p. 142 of the same volume; and, at p. 145, the description of a painting by Murillo, quoted from Stirling's Spanish Painters, p. 914. See also Dante, Paradiso, xxxi. 102.

32. _comfort of us wrecches_, comfort of us miserable sinners; see note to l. 58.

_do me endyte_, cause me to indite.

34. _of the feend_, over the Fiend. Tyrwhitt reads _over_ for _of_, but it is unneccessary. Accent _victórie_ on the _o_.

36. Lines 36-51 are a free translation of a passage in Dante's Paradiso,