BOOK II.--Line 68, _Jongleurs_: minstrels who accompanied the troubadours,

and who sometimes did a little jugglery. l. 71, _Elys_: "Elys, then, is merely the ideal subject, with such a name, of Eglamour's poem, and referred to in other places as his (Sordello's) type of perfection, realised according to his faculty (_Ellys_--the lily)"--Robert Browning. [S.] l. 156: "The rhymes 'Her head that's sharp ... sunblanched the livelong summer' are referred to Book V., l. 246, 'the vehicle that marred Elys so much,' etc., and 'his worst performance, the Goïto as his first.' l. 980 of the same book." [S.] l. 94, "_spied a scarab_": one of the marks of Apis, the sacred bull of ancient Egypt. The marks were "a black coloured hide with a white triangular spot on the forehead, the hair arranged in the shape of an eagle on the back, and a knot under the tongue in the shape of a scarabæus, the sacred insect and emblem of Ptah, and a white spot resembling a lunar crescent at his right side" (Dr. S. Birch). l. 183, "_A Roman bride_": "on the wedding day, which in early times was never fixed upon without consulting the auspices, the bride was dressed in a long white robe with purple fringe and a girdle at the waist; her veil was of a bright yellow, and shoes likewise; her hair was divided with the point of a spear, which the antiquarians explained as emblematic of the husband's authority, or as typical of the guardianship of Juno Curitico (Juno with the lance)." "But while these rites are being performed, remain unwedded, ye damsels; let the torch of pinewood await auspicious days, and let not the curved spear part thy virgin ringlets" (Ovid, _Fasti_, ii. 160). [S.] l. 218, "_Perseus_"--rescuing Andromeda when chained to the rock in the sea. l. 222, "_gnome_": the Rosicrucians imagined gnomes to be sprites presiding over mines, etc. l. 224, "_Agate cup, his topaz rod, his seed pearl_": amongst the various superstitions connected with precious stones the agate was held to be an emblem of health and long life, and to possess certain medicinal uses. The topaz, said the old doctor, "is favourable to hæmorrhages, to impart strength, and promote digestion"; it was an emblem of fidelity. l. 307, "_Massic jars dug up at Baiæ_": Massic wine was famous in old Roman days. Baiæ, an ancient town near Naples; in old Roman days a health and pleasure resort of the wealthy; innumerable relics of these times have been unearthed. "Mons Massicus was a vine-clad hill in the Campagna, where the Falernian wine was grown." [S.] l. 297, "_A plant they have_"; The day-lily--St. Bruno's lily--the _Hemerocallis liliastrum_, in French, belle de jour. l. 329, _Vicenza_: a city of Northern Italy of great antiquity; the first encounter between the Guelfs and Ghibellines took place here, about 1194. l. 330, _Vivaresi_: a Lombard family. l. 331, _Maltraversi_: a noble family of Padua. l. 435, _Machine_: see l. 1014. l. 460, "_some huge throbbing stone_": "In one of Ossian's poems a description is given of bards walking around a rocking stone, and by their singing making it move as an oracle of battle." [S.] l. 483, _truchman_ == an interpreter. l. 527, _rondel, tenzon, virlai, or sirvent_: forms of Provençal poetry. "_Rondel_, a thirteen-verse poem, in which the beginning is repeated in the third and fourth verses--from _rotundus_; _tenzon_, a contest in verse before a tribunal of love--from _tendo_, in the sense of to strive; _virlai_, or _vireley_, a short poem, always in short lines, and wholly in two rhymes, with a refrain--from _virer_; _sirvent_, a poem of praise or service, sometimes satirical; from _servire_." (_Imp. Dict._) [S.] l. 529, _angelot_: an instrument of music somewhat resembling a lute. l. 625, "_sparkles off_": intransitive verb,--"his mail sparkles off and it rings, whirled from each delicatest limb it warps." [S.] l. 627, "_Apollo from the sudden corpse of Hyacinth_": Apollo was one day teaching Hyacinthus to play at quoits, and accidentally killed him. l. 630, _Montfort_: the father of Simon de Montfort, who fought against the Albigenses. l. 729, _Vidal_: Pierre Vidal, of Toulouse, a poet of varied inspiration, was loaded with gifts by the greatest nobles of his time (see Sismondi, _Lit. Eur._, vol. i., p. 135). Professor Sonnenschein says he was a Provençal troubadour, who died about 1210. He was a sort of caricature of the usual troubadour excellence and foolishness. Some of his poems are the best remaining of the Provençal poetry. He went twice to Palestine, once with a crusade. He was hated by Sordello, and referred to in some of his poems which are extant. l. 730, _filamot_: yellow-brown colour; from _feuille-morte_; _murrey-coloured_: of a dark-red or mulberry colour (_morus_, mulberry). l. 755, _plectre_, or plectrum: a staff of ivory, horn, etc., for playing with on a lyre. l. 784, "_Bocafoli's stark-naked psalms_": not merely _plain_ song, but _naked_ song. l. 785, _Plara's sonnets_. Both personages are imaginary. l. 786, _almug_: "probably the red sandalwood of China and India" (Dr. W. Smith). l. 788, _river-horse_: the hippopotamus. l. 792, _pompion-twine_: pumpkin. l. 843, _Pappacoda_: a nickname. _Tagliafer_, or _Taillefer_: the favourite minstrel-knight of William of Normandy, who rode in front of the invading army at the battle of Senlac, and sang the song of Roland. l. 846, _o'ertoise_: overstretch? l. 877, _Count Lori_, or Loria of Naples. l. 883, "_The Grey Paulician_": "Eccelino II. found the Paterini or Paulicians, a Manichæan sect, who were driven from the East by the Empress Theodora (who had a hundred thousand of them killed) and her successors. They were slowly forced westward, and at last settled in Italy, and in Languedoc, in the neighbourhood of Albi. They are credited with planting the first seeds of the Reformation in the Latin Church. Innocent III., alarmed at their doctrines and increasing numbers, opposed them, and instructed St. Dominic and St. Francis to preach against them. The result was the cruel crusade of 1206, which continued in the form of more or less spasmodic persecution for many years,--at least thirty." [S.] l. 899, _Romano_: the birthplace of Ezzelino, near Bassano. Eccelino Romano was chief of the Ghibellines. l. 901, _Azzo's sister Beatrix_: married Otho IV. l. 902, _Richard's Giglia_: a Guelf lady. l. 929, _Retrude_: wife of Salinguerra. l. 948, _Strojavacca_: a troubadour? l. 986, "_Cat's head and Ibis' tail_": "Egyptian symbols in mosaic on the porphyry floor." [S.] l. 989, _Soldan_: Sultan. l. 1009, "_Iris root the Tuscan grated over them_": orris-root. l. 1013, _Carian group_: the Caryatides--women dressed as at the feasts of Diana Caryatis. Carya was a town in Arcadia.