BOOK III.--Line 2, _moonfern and trifoly_: plants which have supposed

magical and healing properties [S.]; _moonfern_, the same as moonwort--_Rumex lunaria_; _mystic trifoly_ == trefoil; "Herb Trinity" was used by St. Patrick to teach the mystery of the Holy Trinity. l. 12, _painted byssus_: silky fibres of a mollusc which has sometimes been spun with silk. l. 14, _Tyrrhene whelk_: the celebrated Tyrian purple, formerly prepared from a shell fish at Tyre. l. 14, _trireme_: a galley or vessel with three benches of oars on a side. l. 15, _satrap_ == the governor of a province (Persian). l. 87, "_Marsh gone of a sudden_": when the lake appeared in its place. l. 88, "_Mincio in its place laughed_": when the river occupied the place of the marsh. l. 121, _Island house_: "a villa outside Palermo called La Favara" [S.]; _Nuocera_: between Pompeii and Amalfi. It was called "de Pagani," from a Saracenic colony of Frederick II., who was sometimes contemptuously called the Sultan of Nocera. Villani preserves the quaint words of the famous taunt which Charles of Anjou addressed to Manfred, before the bath of Benvinutum: "Alles e dit moi a li Sultan de Nocere hoggi metorai lui en enfers o il mettar moi en paradis." [S.] l. 123, _Palermitans_: citizens of Palermo. l. 124, _Messinese_: citizens of Messina. l. 125, "_dusk Saracenic clans Nuocera holds_": Frederick, who was afterwards the renowned Frederick II., Emperor of Germany, was crowned at Palermo, in Sicily, in 1198; during his minority the land was torn by turbulent nobles, and revolted Saracens; in 1220 the Emperor-King planted a colony of Saracens at Nocera on the mainland. l. 132, _mollitious alcoves_ == soft alcoves. l. 133, _Byzant domes_: Byzantine architecture, in which the dome was a feature, developed about A.D. 300. l. 135, "_August pleasant Dandolo_": "Enrico Dandolo, one of the patrician family of that name in Venice, was chosen doge in 1192, although already blind and seventy-two years old. After naval successes against the Pisans, he was applied to at the time of the fourth crusade to furnish vessels for transport to Constantinople. After making terms most advantageous to the Republic, he himself led the enterprise to success, and shared with the French in the pillage of the city, and very largely in booty and privileges accruing. The four horses of St. Mark's Church were brought over to Venice by him." [S.] l. 140, "_Transport to Venice square_": St. Mark's Church in Venice is adorned with precious columns brought from temples and buildings in all parts of the ancient world. l. 225, "_The bulb dormant, etc._": "It was the custom to bury the hyacinth bulb with mummies." [S.] l. 85, _The Carroch_: "during the war of the Milanese with Conrad, the Salic archbishop, Eribert, invented the Carroccio, which was at once adopted by all the cities of Italy. He placed it at the head of the army, and it was an imitation of the ark of the covenant of the tribes of Israel. The carroccio was a four-wheeled car drawn by four yokes of oxen. It was painted red; the oxen were dressed in red clothes to their heels; a very high mast, also painted red, was in the midst; it terminated in a golden ball. Below, between two white veils, floated the standard of the commune, and below that again was a crucifix, with the Saviour extending His arms to bless the army. A sort of platform in the front of the car was devoted to some of the bravest soldiers appointed for its defence. Another platform in the rear was occupied by musicians and trumpeters. Mass was said upon the carroccio before it left the town, and there was frequently a special chaplain attached to it." [S.] l. 312, "_the candle's at the gateway_": "compare with King Alfred's measurement of time. It is still the custom at Bremen for property to be sold at an auction by the candle--that is, the bidding goes on till the candle goes out." [S.] l. 314, _Tiso Sampier_: "Eccelin I. and Tissolin di Campo St. Pierre had been warm friends until, a difference occurring about a marriage portion, Eccelin proved treacherous and grasping, and a lasting feud arose between the two families." [S.] l. 315, "_Ferrara's succoured Palma!_" "The preceding passages in quotation marks are all in the Guelf spirit; this explanation is Ghibelline, say from Browning himself." [S.] l. 386, _Cesano_: a city of Emilia, between Bologna and Ancona, Dante, in _Inferno_, canto xxvii., characterises Cesano as living midway between tyranny and freedom. l. 456, _Fomalhaut_: a star of the first magnitude, in the constellation Priscus Australis, one of the brightest visible in the midnight meridian of September. [S.] l. 476, _Conrad_: the Swabian (1138-52). l. 486, _Saponian_: Mr. Browning explained this puzzling term as referring to the Saponi, who were a branch of the Eccelini family, which settled in Lombardy before the time of Sordello. l. 496, _Vincentines_: the people of Vicenza. l. 514,

"_... just As Adelaide of Susa could entrust Her donative ... ... to the superb Matilda's perfecting_."

"The _Biographie Universelle_ says: 'Adelaide, Marchioness of Susa, was contemporary with Matilda the great Countess of Tuscany, and governed Piedmont with wisdom and firmness. She endeavoured more than once to make peace between the Emperor and Popes. She was married three times--to a Duke of Swabia, a Marquis of Montferrat, and a Count of Maurienna; and partly through her inheritance from the husbands, all of whom she survived, partly on account of her wise management, her fief Susa became the most important in Italy. Matilda, the great Countess of Tuscany, was one of the most famous characters of her age. Absolute ruler of the most powerful country in Italy, she defended Hildebrand, and adhered to the Pope against all enemies, proffers or threats. During her lifetime she transferred the greater part of her possessions by deed of gift to the papacy; and that deed was the foundation of Papal claims to many lands in Italy throughout the following centuries. She owned the Castle of Canozza, where the Pope took refuge from Henry IV., who had married Adelaide's daughter; and it was to Canozza that that Emperor was obliged to resort, when later he sought the Pope's forgiveness, and when he was left standing barefoot in the snow awaiting the Pope's pleasure. Matilda conveyed her estates to the Pope in 1102, was made sovereign of all Italy in 1110, and died 1115.' There appears to be no mention of any donative entrusted to the superb Matilda, either in the _Biographie Universelle_, or in Sismondi." [S.] Line 501, "_lion's crine_" == lion's hair. l. 583, "_like the alighted Planet Pollux wore_." Castor and Pollux were generally represented mounted on two white horses, armed with spears, and riding side by side with their heads covered with a bonnet, on the top of which glittered a star. The twins took part in the Argonautic expedition, and when a violent storm arose two flames of fire appeared, and were seen to play around their heads. Pollux was the son of Jupiter, whilst Castor was only his half-brother; but he obtained from Jupiter, for Castor, the gift of immortality, and a place with him amongst the constellations. St. Elmo's fire, which frequently appears and plays about masts and yards of ships during storms, was called Castor and Pollux by Roman sailors" (Lemprière, _Class. Dict._). l. 590,

"_For thus I bring Sordello_."

See Book I., l. 353. l. 616, "_Verona's Lady_" is a statue on the top of a fountain at one end of the Piazza d'Erbe. The fountain was put up in 916, at the completion of the aqueduct by Berenger. It was restored in 1368. The statue was first erected by Theodosius in 1380. It is called by the people _Donna Verona_, and wears a steel crown as a symbol that the town was an imperial residence. l. 617, _Gaulish Brennus_, who besieged Rome B.C. 385. l. 621, _Manlïus_: Manlius Marcus, a celebrated Roman who defended the Capitol against the Gauls. l. 625, _platan_: the plane tree. l. 626, _Archimage_: the high priest of the Magi or fire-worshippers. l. 687, _colibri_: humming birds. l. 712, _Bassanese_, of Bassano, a noble town on the Brenta. l. 797, _Basilic_: the Basilica, St. Mark's great Cathedral. l. 798, "_God's great day of the Corpus Domini_" (or _Body of the Lord_): the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is held on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday. l. 811, _losel_ == a wasteful, worthless fellow. l. 813,

"_God spoke, Of right hand, foot, and eye_." (See St. Matthew v. 29, 30) [S.]

l. 837, _mugwort_ == a herb of the genus _Artemisia_. l. 839, "_Zin the Horrid_": the Syrian wilderness where the Israelites found no water (Num. xx. 1). l. 847, "_potsherd and Gibeonites_": see Joshua ix. l. 852, _Meribah_: see Exod. xvii. 7 and Num. xxvii. 14. l. 898, "_Prisoned in the Piombi_": horrible torture cells on the leads of the Ducal Palace at Venice, where the prisoners were roasted in the sun. l. 924, "_Tempe's dewy vale_": a beautiful valley in Thessaly. l. 964, _Hercules--in Egypt_: in his quest for the golden apples of the Hesperides, Hercules journeyed through Egypt--Busiris, the king, was about to sacrifice Hercules to Zeus, but he broke his bonds and slew Busiris, his sons and servants. l. 975, _patron-friend_: Walter Savage Landor, who warmly praised Browning's poetry when others abused it; the reference is to Empedocles, a Greek poet. l. 977, _Marathon, Platæa, and Salamis_: celebrated Greek battle-places. l. 987, "_The king who lost the ruby_": Polycrates of Samos. He was advised to throw into the sea the most precious of his jewels, a beautiful seal; he grieved much at the loss, but in a few days he had a present of a large fish, in the belly of which his ring was found. l. 992, _English Eyebright_: the botanical name of the plant is _Euphrasia officinalis_. Euphrasia was the name of a lady who was an old friend of Mr. Browning's (Dr. Furnivall). l. 1021, _Xanthus_: a disciple of St. John the Evangelist. l. 1024, _Polycarp_, an early Christian martyr, A.D. 166; and a disciple of St. John. l. 1025, _Charicle_: also a disciple. l. 1045, "_twy prong_" was one of the instruments used by necromancers in "raising the devil." "To procure the magic fork.--This is a branch of a single beam of hazel or almond, which must be cut at a single stroke with the new knife used in the sacrifice. The rod must terminate in a fork." (Waite's _Mysteries of Magic_, p. 260.) _Pastoral Cross_: the cross on a priest's vestment is sometimes Y-shaped. Hargrave Jennings, in his _Rosicrucians_, says it is now used as an anagram exemplifying the Athanasian Creed; exactly, in fact, like the magic twy prong in shape. An Archbishop's crozier or pastoral staff terminates in a cross at the top.