Chapter 27

'Cassiodore in his aprise telleth,The regne is sauf, where pitè dwelleth.'

'Cassiodore in his aprise telleth,

The regne is sauf, where pitè dwelleth.'

I find: 'Pietas est quae regit et celos'; Cass.Var.xi. 40.

332.assysed, fixed, set; cf. l. 236. Unless it means assessed, rated; a sense which is also found in Gower, viz. in his Conf. Amant. i. 5; see the New E. Dict. The passage is a little obscure.

336. 'On account of which mercy should turn aside.'

339.Constantyn, Constantine the Great, Roman emperor fromA.D.306 to 337. Eusebius wrote a life of him in four books, which is rather a panegyric than a biography. The story here told is hardly consistentwith the facts, as Constantine caused the death of his own son Crispus and of young Licinius; as to which Gibbon (c. xviii) remarks that 'the courtly bishop, who has celebrated in an elaborate work the virtues and pieties of his hero, observes a prudent silence on the subject of these tragic events.' In his Conf. Amantis, iii. 192, Gower again says:—

'Thus saide whylom Constantyn:—What emperour that is enclynTo pitè for to be servaunt,Of al the worldes remenauntHe is worthy to ben a lord.'

'Thus saide whylom Constantyn:—

What emperour that is enclyn

To pitè for to be servaunt,

Of al the worldes remenaunt

He is worthy to ben a lord.'

But the particular story about the 'yonge children' to which Gower here alludes is given at length in the Conf. Amantis, bk. ii. vol. i. pp. 266-77. Very briefly, it comes to this. Constantine, while still a heathen, was afflicted with leprosy. The physicians said he could only be healed by bathing in the blood of young children. On due reflection, he preferred to retain his leprosy; whereupon, he was directed in a vision to apply to pope Silvester, who converted him and baptised him; and he was cured of his leprosy when immersed in the baptismal font. The whole city followed the emperor's example, and was converted to Christianity. This explains ll. 354-5:—'so that the dear ones, (converted) from being the hateful ones who had formerly been at enmity with Christ,' &c.

363. Fordebated, MS. T. hasdeleated, fordelated, i.e. deferred; seeDilatein the New E. Dict.

380. 'these other Christian princes'; viz. in particular, Charles VI, king of France, and Robert III, king of Scotland.

393. These interesting lines tell us that blindness befell the poet in the first year of Henry IV (Sept. 30, 1399—Sept. 29, 1400); and we gather that the present poem was meant to be his last. As a matter of fact, he wrote a still later couplet in the following words:—

'Henrici regis annus fuit ille secundusScribere dum cesso, sum quia cecus ego.'

'Henrici regis annus fuit ille secundus

Scribere dum cesso, sum quia cecus ego.'

These lines occur in MSS. of his Vox Clamantis; see Morley, Eng. Writers, iv. 157. Notwithstanding his infirmity, Gower survived till the autumn of 1408; and was interred, as is well known, in the church of St. Mary Overies—now St. Saviour's—in Southwark, towards the rebuilding of which he had liberally contributed.

It appears that negotiations for peace, both with Scotland and France, were being prosecuted in the latter part of 1399; see Wylie, History of Henry IV, i. 82, 86. It is also probable that Gower must have written the 'Praise of Peace' before the death of Richard II in Feb. 1400, as he makes no allusion to that event, nor to the dangerous conspiracy against Henry's life in the early part of January. For these reasons, we may safely date the poem in the end of the year 1399.

V. THOMAS HOCCLEVE: THE LETTER OF CUPID.

This poem is imitated, rather than translated, from the French poem entitled L'Epistre au Dieu d'Amours, written by Christine de Pisan in May, 1399; printed in Œuvres Poétiques de Christine de Pisan, publiées par Maurice Roy, ii. 1-27; Société des Anciens Textes Français, 1891. Hoccleve even rearranges some of the material; and Dr. Furnivall has printed all the lines of the original of which the English poet has made use, in the Notes to his edition of Hoccleve's Works, published for the Early English Text Society, in 1892. It thus appears that the lines of Christine's poem are to be taken in the following order: 1-116, 537-54, 126-30, 531-4, 131-96, 721-5, 259-520, 321-5, 271-4, 387-460, 643-77, 608-23, 559-75, 759-800. The following stanzas, on the other hand, are wholly Hoccleve's own: 71-7, 92-8, 127-33, 141-7, 162-8, 176-89, 267-73, 316-29, 379-434. The last set extends to 56 lines.

Cupid, god of Love, is supposed to write a letter to all lovers, who are his subjects, reproving men for their slander and ill-treatment of women, and defending women against all that is alleged against them. In fact, it is a reply, by Christine de Pisan, to the numerous severe things that Jean de Meun had said about women in the famous Roman de la Rose. He is expressly mentioned by name in l. 281.

I here quote, as a specimen, the first 7 lines of the original, answering to Hoccleve's first stanza—

'Cupido, roy par la grace de lui,Dieu des amans, sans aide de nullui,Regnant en l'air du ciel tres reluisant,Filz de Venus la deesse poissant,Sire d'amours et de tous ses obgiez,A tous vos vrais loiaulx servans subgiez,Salut, Amour, Familiarite!'

'Cupido, roy par la grace de lui,

Dieu des amans, sans aide de nullui,

Regnant en l'air du ciel tres reluisant,

Filz de Venus la deesse poissant,

Sire d'amours et de tous ses obgiez,

A tous vos vrais loiaulx servans subgiez,

Salut, Amour, Familiarite!'

5. 'Son of the goddess Cithera,' i.e. Venus. Cithera is an alternative spelling of Citherea, occurring in the Cambridge and Petworth MSS. of the Cant. Tales, A 2215. For the construction, see note to Ch. C. T., F 209.

16.Albion. Of course Hoccleve has adapted the poem for English readers. The original has:—'Sur tous païs se complaignent deFrance.'

28. I readmotfor the sake of the grammar and scansion; the MSS. havemost, bad spelling formost-e, the past tense. Butmootoccurs, correctly, as the emphatic form ofmot, in l. 35. Cf. l. 410.

30.As doth, pray, do; a common idiom; see note to C. T., E 7.

37.man, i.e. 'human being'; used generally, and including women.

38. 'When no word can proceed out of his mouth but such as may reasonably please any one, it apparently comes from the heart.'

50. 'Has the pot by the handle'; i.e. holds it securely.

54. Note the accentuation: 'Aný womán.' This accentuation of words on the latter syllable in rather unlikely cases, is a marked peculiarity of Hoccleve's verse. Cf.wománin l. 79,journéyin l. 106;axíngin l. 122,purpósin l. 130. Cf.wommánin l. 170 withwómmanin l. 174.

71.To here?to her? Dr. Furnivall notes that Hoccleve frequently makesheredissyllabic, when it represents the personal pronoun. Cf. l. 70; and see his Preface, p. xli. The reading 'To hir name yet was yt no reprefe,' given in Dr. Furnivall's edition from one MS. only, affords no sense, and will not scan, asnameis properly dissyllabic.

90.souneth in-to, tends to; cf. note to C. T., B 3157.

95. 'They procure such assistants as have a double face.' The accentuation ofprócurenon theowas at this time common; we even find the formproker(see Stratmann).

120-2.wolde ... Men wiste, would like men to know.

131. 'Unless he be so far advanced in madness as to spoil all with open coarseness; forthat, as I suppose, women do not like.'

145. 'Reason follows it so slowly and leisurely.'

184.dishonest, unworthy of honour, blameworthy. Ray gives the proverb—'it's an ill bird that bewrays its own nest'; and compares the Greek—τὸν οἴκοι θησαυρὸν διαβάλλειν.

192.lakken, blame, find fault with; as in Chaucer.

196.bilowen, lied against; pp. ofbilēoȝen, A.S.bilēogan.

204. Alluding to Ovid'sRemedium Amoris. Cf. Ch. C. T., D 688-710.

215. 'They say, it is profitable to consider peril.'

225. Rather close to the original French:—

'Et aucuns sont qui iadis en mes lasFurent tenus, mais il sont d'amer las,Ou par vieillece ou deffaulte de cuer,Si ne veulent plus amer a nul fuer,Et convenant m'ont de tous poins nyé,Moy et mon fait guerpy et renié,Comme mauvais serviteurs et rebelles.'

'Et aucuns sont qui iadis en mes las

Furent tenus, mais il sont d'amer las,

Ou par vieillece ou deffaulte de cuer,

Si ne veulent plus amer a nul fuer,

Et convenant m'ont de tous poins nyé,

Moy et mon fait guerpy et renié,

Comme mauvais serviteurs et rebelles.'

257.hente, caught;in hir daunger, under their control, within their power.

258. It was thought that one poison would expel another; see P. Plowman, C. xxi. 156-8, and the notes.

272. 'It cannot long abide upon one object.'

281. Jean de Meun, author of the latter and more satirical part of the famous Roman de la Rose; see vol. i.

298. 'They are not so void of constancy.' Readcónstauncè.

302. See Ch. Legend of Good Women, 1580.

305.wold, desired; pp. ofwillen; see note to C. T., B 2615.

309. See Ch. Legend of Good Women, 924.

316-29. These two stanzas are wholly original. Hoccleve, remembering that the examples of Medea and Dido both occur in Chaucer's Legend of Good Women, here takes occasion to make an express reference to that work, which he here calls 'my Legende of Martres.'Myrefers to Cupid;Legend, to Chaucer's title; andMartres, to the Latin titles to some of the Legends. Thus the Legend of Hypsipyle and Medea is entitled—'Incipit Legenda Ysiphile et Medee,Martirum.' Instead ofMartres, Thynne has the ridiculous readingNatures, which the editions carefully retain.

357. 'And, had it not been for the devil,' &c.

360.her, the serpent. There was a legend that the serpent had the face of a beautiful virgin. See Ch. C. T., B 360, and note; P. Plowman, B. xviii. 335, and note.

379-434. These eight stanzas are all Hoccleve's own.

393.happy to, fortunate for; because it brought about Christ's incarnation. The allusion is to the oft-quoted sentence—'Ofelix culpa, O necessarium peccatum Ade,' from the Sarum missal. See note to P. Plowman, C. viii. 126. Cf. l. 396.

421. The day of St. Margaret, Virgin and Martyr, was July 20, in the Latin Church. See the edition of Seinte Marherete, by O. Cockayne, E. E. T. S., 1866.

428.I, i.e. Cupid. This stanza is spoken by Cupid, in his own character; cf. l. 431. In l. 464, he assumes the royal style ofwe. It is, moreover, obvious that this stanza would hardly have been approved of by Christine.

473-6. Imitated from the closing lines of Christine's poem:—

'Donné en l'air, en nostre grant palais,Le jour de May la solempnée festeOu les amans nous font mainte requeste,L'An de grace Mil trois cens quate vinsEt dix et neuf, present dieux et divins,' &c.

'Donné en l'air, en nostre grant palais,

Le jour de May la solempnée feste

Ou les amans nous font mainte requeste,

L'An de grace Mil trois cens quate vins

Et dix et neuf, present dieux et divins,' &c.

It thus appears that 'the lusty month of May,' in l. 472, is merely copied from the French; but, to the fortunate circumstance that Christine gives the exact date of her poem as 1399, we owe the fact that Hoccleve likewise gives the exact date of his poem as being 1402.

VI. THOMAS HOCCLEVE: TO THE KING; AND TO THE KNIGHTS OF THE GARTER.

These two Balades, each of 32 lines, are written in a highly artificial metre; for, in each case, the four stanzas of which each consists shew the same rimes throughout. The riming syllables in Balade 1 are-esse,-our, and-alle; and in Balade 2, are-ame,-aunce, and-ee. A similar example of metrical arrangement occurs in Chaucer's Balade to Rosemounde.

2.king, Henry V, as we see from the French title.

3.Justinian; emperor of Constantinople,A.D.527-65, whose fame rests upon the justly celebrated Justinian Code of laws. The reference, fortunately, is explained by Hoccleve himself, in a longer Balade concerning Sir John Oldcastel, printed inAnglia, v. 23; and again in Hoccleve's Poems, ed. Furnivall, p. 8. Hoccleve is praising Justinian's orthodoxy, to which (as he tells us) Henry V was heir; and the exact reference is to the following clause in one of Justinian's laws, which is quoted in full in the margin of the Balade above mentioned; seeAnglia, v. 28; or Poems, ed. Furnivall, p. 14. 'Nemo clericus vel militaris, vel cuiuslibet alterius conditionisde fide Christianapublice turbis coadunatis et audientibus tractare conetur,' &c. So that Justinian's 'devout tenderness in the faith' was exhibited by repressing religious discussion; cf. l. 27. See Gibbon's Roman Empire, ch. 44.

5.the Garter. The noble Order of the Garter was founded by Edward III on St. George's day, Apr. 23, 1349; cf. l. 54.

10.Constantyn. He now proceeds to liken Henry V to Constantine the Great, who was a great supporter of the church; see note above, to Poem no. IV, l. 339. Cf.Anglia, v. 29; or Poems, ed. Furnivall, p. 15; st. 28.

15.do forth, proceed, continue to do as you have done in the past. Not a common expression; seeforthin Mätzner.

18. Very characteristic of Hoccleve; the accents required by the verse are thrown upon the weak wordsyourandthe. But perhapsyouris emphatic. Cf.fullýin l. 20,á sharp, 21.

30. Hoccleve is clearly urging the King to repress Lollardry.

37. 'God would have it so; and your allegiance would also have it so.' This is explained in a sidenote in the margin: 'quia Rex illam iustissimam partem tenet.' That is, the lords ought to put down heresy, because their master the king was against it.

41.Your style, your motto; the famous 'Honi soit qui mal y pense.' Henceshamehere means scandal; butfoos to shameis an awkward expression in this connexion.

47.nuisaunce, annoyance; referring to heresy; cf. l. 50.

52.Slepë nat this, be not sleepy about this; a rare construction.

58.norice of distaunce, nurse of debate or strife.

60. 'Variation from the faith would be a damnable thing.'

64. The remark—Cest tout—instead of the usual wordexplicit, occurs at the end of several poems by Hoccleve; see his Poems, ed. Furnivall, pp. 8, 24, 47, 51, 57, 58, 61, 62, 64, &c.

VII. HENRY SCOGAN: A MORAL BALADE.

For remarks upon the heading of this poem, see the Introduction.

3.Sende; that is, he did not come and recite the poem himself.

8. This reminds us of the Knight's appeal: 'Now late us ryde,and herkneth what I seye'; C. T., A 855.

30.to queme, according to your pleasure.Quemeis here a substantive; see Stratmann. Cf.to payin Chaucer.

49.Tak'this monosyllabic, as in l. 57. So alsoThink'th, in l. 59.

51. From James, ii. 17.

56. 'To the honour of your life and the benefit of your soul.'

65. The exclamation shews that Chaucer was then dead.

67. The quotation is inexact; cf. ll. 120, 121 below. The reference is to the Wyf of Bathes Tale, D 1121:—

'Yet may they [our eldres] nat biquethe us, for no-thing,To noon of us hir virtuous living.'

'Yet may they [our eldres] nat biquethe us, for no-thing,

To noon of us hir virtuous living.'

81. ReadThink'th; so alsoDryv'thin l. 86;Tak'thin l. 89.

97. Here the quotation, again from the Wyf of Bathes Tale (D 1131), is very close:—

'For of our eldres may we no-thing claymeBut temporel thing, that man may hurte and mayme.'

'For of our eldres may we no-thing clayme

But temporel thing, that man may hurte and mayme.'

100. 'Therefore God is the source of virtuous nobleness.' This depends on a passage in Boethius, bk. iii. met. 6. l. 2; see notes to poem XIV, in vol. i. pp. 553-5.

105. See this poem of Chaucer's in vol. i. p. 392.

143.ful rage, very fierce. But I know of no other example ofrageas an adjective.

146.kalends, the beginning; as in Troil. v. 1634.

150. The passage in Boethius is in Book i. met. 6. 11-15. Cf. Ch. vol. ii. p. 19.

'Nec quaeras auida manu Vernos stringere palmites,Vuis si libeat frui: Autumno potius suaBacchus munera contulit.'

'Nec quaeras auida manu Vernos stringere palmites,

Vuis si libeat frui: Autumno potius sua

Bacchus munera contulit.'

166. From Chaucer, Wyf of Bathes Tale, D 1165:—

'Thenketh how noble, as seith Valerius,Was thilke Tullius Hostilius,That out of povert roos to heigh noblesse.'

'Thenketh how noble, as seith Valerius,

Was thilke Tullius Hostilius,

That out of povert roos to heigh noblesse.'

And Chaucer found it in Valerius Maximus, iii. 4; see vol. v. p. 320.

168. From Chaucer, Monkes Tale, B 3862. But it may be doubted if Caesar's alleged poverty is an historical fact. Cf. p. 24, l. 128 (above).

174. Read the story of Nero in the Monkes Tale, B 3653; that of Balthasar (Belshazzar) in the same, B 3373; and that of Antiochus in the same, B 3765. Compare the lines in B 3800-1:—

'For he so sore fil out of his charThat it his limes and his skin to-tar.'

'For he so sore fil out of his char

That it his limes and his skin to-tar.'

187. 'I should be sorry, if ye choose amiss.'

VIII. JOHN LYDGATE; COMPLAINT OF THE BLACK KNIGHT.

There are some excellent notes relative to this poem in Schick's edition of Lydgate'sTemple of Glas(E. E. T. S.); I refer to them below as 'Schick, T. G.'

4.Bole, Bull. The sun entered Taurus, in the fifteenth century, just before the middle of April. Hence the phraseAmid the Bolerefers, not to the first degree of the sign, but (literally) to themiddleof it. The reference must be to May 1, when the sun had just passed a little beyond the middle (or 15th degree) of Taurus.

Even here we trace the influence of Chaucer's translation of the Romaunt of the Rose; for which see notes to ll. 36, 74 below. Chaucer reiterates the mention ofMay, R. R. 49, 51, 55, 74, 86; and ll. 1 and 2 of the present poem answer to R. R. 53-56:—

'For ther is neither busk ne hayIn May, that it nil shrouded been,And it with newe leves wreen.'

'For ther is neither busk ne hay

In May, that it nil shrouded been,

And it with newe leves wreen.'

12.with seint Johan, with St. John for their security or protection; probably suggested by The Compleynt of Mars, l. 9, which opens in a similar strain; cf. note to C. T., F 596; vol. v. p. 385.

15, 16. Compare Rom. Rose (Chaucer's version), ll. 94-5.

21.halt, holds, constrains; the present tense.

22, 23. Compare Rom. Rose (Chaucer's version), ll. 100-1.

28. Lydgate is fond of calling the sunTytan; Chaucer has the name only once; in Troil. iii. 1464. Lydgate is here thinking of the passage in the Knightes Tale, A 1493-6, aboutfyry Phebus. Note that he is fond of the wordpersaunt; see ll. 358, 591, 613; cf. Schick, note to T. G. 328.

33. It is odd that no MS. has the formsplayen; yet the finalnis required for the metre, or, at any rate, to save an hiatus.

36. Lydgate here copies l. 134 of the English Romaunt of the Rose—'The river-syde costeying'—and is a witness to the genuineness of Fragment A of that poem; as appears more clearly below; see note to l. 75. The whole passage seems founded upon the Romaunt; for this walk by the river brings him to apark(agardenin the Romaunt) enclosed by a wall that had a small gate in it. It is further obvious that l. 42 is borrowed from l. 122 of the Parliament of Foules—'Right of a park walled with grene stoon.' I may remark here that I have seen a wall constructed of red sandstone so entirely covered with a very minute kind of vegetable growth as to present to the eye a bright green surface.

40.gate smal; usually called awiketin similar poems; see Rom. Rose, 528, and Schick, note to T. G. 39.

43-49. This stanza answers to Rom. Rose, ll. 105-8, 78-9.

52.celúred, canopied, over-arched (New E. Dict.).

53-6. Cf. Rom. Rose, 1398-1400.

57.attempre, temperate; observe that this word occurs in the Rom. Rose, l. 131 (only three lines above the line quoted in the note to l. 36), where the F. text hasatrempee.

62.take, take effect, take hold, become set; an early example of this curious intransitive use of the verb.

63. 'Ready for (men) to shake off the fruit.'

64.Daphne. Cf. Troil. iii. 726:—'O Phebus, thenk whan Dane hirselven shetteUnder the bark, and laurer wexfor drede.' And cf. C. T., A 2062; and Schick, note to T. G. 115.

66.myrre; see Troil. iv. 1138-9.

67. Cf. the mention of laurel, pine, and cedar in Rom. Rose, 1313-4.

68. The resemblance ofphilbert(Philibert's nut) to Phyllis is accidental, but it was then believed that the connexion was real; merely because Vergil has 'Phyllis amat corylos'; Ecl. vii. 63. Thus Gower has (Conf. Amant. ii. 30):—

'And, after Phillis,philiberdThis tree was called in the yerd'—

'And, after Phillis,philiberd

This tree was called in the yerd'—

and he gives the story of Phyllis and Demophon, saying that Phyllis hanged herself on a nut-tree. See the Legend of Good Women, 2557. Pliny alludes to 'the almond-tree whereon ladie Phyllis hanged herselfe'; Nat. Hist. xvi. 26 (in Holland's translation). See further in Schick, note to T. G. 86.

71.hawethorn; often mentioned in poems of this period; see Schick, note to T. G. 505. Cf. XX. 272, p. 369; XXIV. 1433, p. 447.

74, 75. The list of trees was evidently suggested by the Rom. Rose; see Chaucer's translation, 1379-86. Hence the next thing mentioned is awell; see the same, ll. 1409-11, 109-30. Note that the water wascold, as in R. R. 116;under a hill, as in R. R. 114; and ran overgravel, as in R. R. 127, 1556. And then note the same, 1417-20:—

'About thebrinkesof thise welles,And by the stremes over-al ellesSprang up the gras, as thikke y-setAnd softe as any veluët.'

'About thebrinkesof thise welles,

And by the stremes over-al elles

Sprang up the gras, as thikke y-set

And softe as any veluët.'

It is remarkable that the French original merely has 'Poignoit l'erbe freschete et drue,' without any mention ofsofteor ofveluët. It thus becomes clear that Lydgate is actually quotingChaucer's version.

81. The reading seems to belustily cam springing; it would be a great improvement to transpose the words, and readcam lustily springing. Cf. 'Abouten it is gras springing'; R. R. 1563.

82. Cf. 'That shadwed was with braunches grene'; R. R. 1511.

87.Narcisus, Narcissus; introduced as a matter of course, because he is here mentioned in the Romaunt; see R. R. 1468—'Here starf the faire Narcisus.'

88.Cupyde; cf. R. R. 1523—'Wel couthe Love him wreke tho.' And see the same, 1601-29.

89. Cf. R. R. 1617—'Hath sowen there of love the seed.'

92.pitte, i.e. well of Helicon, most likely; which Chaucer mixed up with the Castalian spring on Parnassus; see note to Anelida, 15. And cf.the Pegaseein C. T., F 207; and 'I sleep never on the mount of Pernaso,' F 721.

95.Dyane, Diana; see C. T., A 2065-6.

97.his houndes, hisowndogs; nother, as in several MSS. For see C. T., A 2067—'his houndes have him caught.'

102.pensifheed, pensiveness; common in Lydgate; see Schick, note to T. G. 2.

103. Cf. 'To drinke and fresshe him wel withalle'; R. R. 1513.

107-12. Suggested by R. R. 1507-16; especially 1515-6.

127. 'Of gras andfloures, indeand pers'; R. R. 67. And compare l. 126 with R. R. 68.

129.hulfere, holly; Icel.hulfr, dogwood. Spelthulwur,huluyrin the Prompt. Parv. 'The holly is still called in Norfolkhulver, and in Suffolkhulva'; Way. Cotgrave has:—'Houx, the holly, holme, or hulver-tree.' Also 'Petit houx, kneehulver, butchers broom.'

131. MS. P. hasof colour; which suggests the reading—'In blakke and whyte, of colour pale and wan'; but this, though a better line, cannot stand, as it makes the wordsalso of his hewein l. 132 superfluous; indeed l. 132 then becomes unmeaning.

136.accesse, feverish attack; see Schick, note to T. G. 358.

151.ure, destiny; O.F.eur, Lat.augurium; cf. F.mal-heur.See l. 302 below, and Barbour's Bruce, i. 312.

154.among; so in all the copies;among as, whilst.

161.ado, to do; put forat do; a Northern idiom.

168.awhaped, stupefied: see Gloss. in vol. vi.amat, dismayed. Cf. Schick, note to T. G. 401.

169.sitting, suitable; cf. R. R. 986.

172.grounde(dissyllabic) improves the line; butgroundis the correct form.

176. Here the Ashmole MS. inserts 'La compleynt du Chiualier'; but wrongly. For see l. 218.

178.Niobe; mentioned in Troil. i. 699. Sowoful Myrre, Troil. iv. 1139.

227.cheste, receptacle; 'chesteof every care'; Troil. v. 1368.

229. Cf. Troil. i. 420; also Rom. Rose, 4746-50.

233.fro, from being, after being.

250.Daunger; see Schick, note to T. G. 156.

253. Cf. 'his arwes ... fyle'; Parl. Foules, 212.

260.Male-Bouche, Evil Tongue; cf. R. R. 7357, &c.; where Fragment C has 'Wikkid-Tonge,' the F. original hasMale Bouche. Cf. IX. 84 (p. 269). See Schick, note to T. G. 153.

274-6.forjugedandexcusedonly give an assonance, not a rime.

291.through-girt ... wounde; from C. T., A 1010.

303.purveyaunce, providence; a reminiscence of the argument in Troil. iv. 961, &c.

304.god; forthe god; but the article is unnecessary; see Schick, note to T. G. 132.

305. 'And true men have fallen off the wheel'; i.e. the wheel of Fortune; cf. Troil. iv. 6.

330.Palamides, Palamedes. There were two different heroes of this name. One was the son of Nauplius, king of Euboea, who lost his life before Troy, by the artifices of Ulysses. It is said that Ulysses, envious of his fame, forged a letter to him purporting to come from Priam, and then accused him of treachery; whereupon he was condemned to be stoned to death. But the reference is rather to a much later hero, the unsuccessful lover of La bele Isoude. He was defeated by the celebrated knight Sir Tristram, who made him promise to resign his pretensions to the lady; a promise which he did not keep. See Sir T. Malory, Morte Arthure, bk. viii. c. 10, &c.

344.Hercules. See the Monkes Tale, B 3285.

349.Gades, Cadiz; where, according to Guido, Hercules set up some columns or pillars, to shew that he had come to the end of the world. There is an extraordinary confusion as to the locality and maker of these pillars. Lydgate here follows the account in the Alexander romances, viz. that Alexander set up a pillar of marble in the furthest end of India (l. 351); on which was inscribed—'Ego Alexander Philippi Macedonis post obitum Darii usque ad hunc locum expugnando viriliter militaui'; see Alexander and Dindimus, ed. Skeat, p. 42. Lydgate has confused the two accounts.

354. Copied from Troil. i. 518:—'Of hem that Love list febly for to avaunce'; which is preceded by 'he may goon in the daunce'; see the next line.

358.Phebus. Cf. 'Whan Phebus dwelled here in this erthe adoun'; C. T., H 1. Lydgate is not, however, referring to the story in the Manciples Tale, but rather to the hopeless love of Phoebus for the daughter of Admetus; for which see Troil. i. 659-65. Cf. Schick, note to T. G. 112.

365.Piramus. See Legend of Good Women, 724; and Schick, note to T. G. 80.

366.Tristram. See notes to Parl. Foules, 288, and to Rosamounde, 20; and to Temple of Glas, ed. Schick, l. 77.

367. Achilles fell in love with Polyxena, a daughter of Priam, according to Guido; see note to Book of the Duch. 1070; and Schick, note to T. G. 94.Antonius, Antony; see Legend of Good Women, 588.

368. See the Knightes Tale; but it is a little extraordinary that Lydgate should instance Palamon here.

372.Jason; see Legend of Good Women, 1580. ForTheseus, see the same, 1945; and forEnee(Aeneas), the same, 924.

379. An interesting allusion, as the story of the false Arcite was of Chaucer's invention; see his Anelida.

380.Demophon; already mentioned above, l. 70.

386.Adon, Adonis; see Troil. iii. 721; C. T., A 2224.

390.chorl, churl; Vulcan; cf. C. T., A 2222, and Compl. of Mars.

393.Ipomenes, Hippomenes, the conqueror of Atalanta in the foot-race; and thereforenot'guerdonles.' He is thinking of Meleager, the unsuccessful lover of theotherAtalanta, her of Calydon. Chaucer seems likewise to have confused these stories; see note to Parl. Foules, 286; and cf. C. T., A 2070-2.

412. Cf. Book Duch. 1024, and my note; and Schick, note to T. G. 169.

419. The correction is obvious. The scribes readiupartyngasinpartyngand then made it into two words. Cf. l. 475. Chaucer hasjuparten, Troil. iv. 1566.

458. 'So variable is thy chance'; cf. C. T., B 125, and the note.

461.blent, blinded. Evidently the right reading, for which MS. S. hasblend. This was turned intoblynde, destroying the rime.

462.went, weeneth, weens, supposes, guesses; he shoots by guess. Evidently the right word, for which MS. S. haswend. But it was easily misunderstood, and most MSS. haveby wenynge, which preserves the sense, but destroys the rime. Cf.let= lets, in l. 464.

480. This line resembles l. 229 of the Temple of Glas.

484. For references to similar lines, see Schick, note to T. G. 60.

488.Parcas, Parcae, the Fates; the form is copied from Troil. v. 3. Lines 486-9 are reminiscences of Troil. iii. 734 and C. T., A 1566.

491. Nature is the deputy of God; see P. F. 379, and note; C. T., C 20.

512. With the following stanzas compare Chaucer's Complaint to his Lady, and An Amorous Complaint.

525. 'Out of your mercy and womanliness, charm my sharp wounds.'

554. A stock line of Lydgate's; it occurs twice in the Temple of Glas, ll. 424, 879.

574. Here the Knight's Complaint ends.

590. 'Parfourned hath the sonne his ark diurne'; C. T., E 1795.

596. Cf. 'among yon rowes rede'; Compl. Mars, 2.

597.deaurat, gilded, of a golden colour; seeDeauratein the New E. Dict.

612.Esperus, Hesperus, the evening-star, the planet Venus. See note to Boeth. bk. i. m. 5. 9.

621. Cf. C. T., A 2383, 2389; and Temple of Glas, 126-8.

627. 'Venus I mene, thewel-willyplanete'; Troil. iii. 1257. Cf.gude-willyin Burns.

644. 'For thilke love thou haddest to Adoun'; C. T., A 2224.

647. MS. B. hasfor very wery, meaning 'because I was very weary,' which is a possible expression; see Schick, note to T. G. 632; butverilyseems better, as otherwise the line is cumbersome.

663.Jelousye; cf. Parl. Foules, 252.

IX. JOHN LYDGATE: THE FLOUR OF CURTESYE.

I know of no MS. copy of this piece.

4. Valentine's day is Feb. 14; cf. Parl. Foules, 309-11.

8.larke; cf. the song of the bird in Compl. Mars, 13-21.

20.Cipryde, really the same as Venus, but here distinguished; see Parl. Foules, 277.

38. Apparently accented as 'Aúrorà'; Ch. has Auróra, L. G. W. 774.

49.crampessh atmust becrampisshed, i.e. constrained painfully, tortured; see note to Anelida, 171 (vol. i. p. 535).

62. Imitated from Parl. Foules, 379-89.

75.sursanure; a wound healed outwardly only; cf. note to C. T., F 1113.

84.Male-bouche, Evil Tongue, Slander; from the Roman de la Rose. See VIII. 260 above.

96.Boreas, only mentioned by Ch. in his Boethius, bk. i. m. 5. 17, m. 3. 8.

113.somer-sonne; imitated from the Book of the Duch. 821-4.

125. 'To speke of bountè or of gentilles,' &c.; T. G. 287.

140. 'To alle hir werkes virtu is hir gyde'; C. T., B 164.

158. Alluding to the proverb—'He that hews above his head, the chips fall in his eye'; which is a warning to men who attack their betters. See I. i. 9. 20, and the note (p. 462).

190-3.Policene, Polyxena; cf. note to VIII. 367.Helayne, Helen.Dorigene; see Frankleyns Tale, F 815.

195.Cleopatre; see the first legend in the Legend of Good Women.secree, secret, able to keep secrets; a praiseworthy attribute; cf. Parl. of Foules, 395; and Lydgate's Temple of Glas, 294-5:—

'and mirrour eke was sheOfsecrenes, of trouth, of faythfulnes.'

'and mirrour eke was she

Ofsecrenes, of trouth, of faythfulnes.'

It is obvious that the extraordinary wordsetrone(see the footnote) arose from a desire on the part of the scribe to secure a rime for the name in the next line, which he must have imagined to beAn-ti-góne, inthreesyllables, with a mute finale! This turnedsecreeintosecrone, which Thynne probably misread assetrone, sincecandtare alike in many MSS. But there are no such words assecroneorsetrone; andsecreemust be restored, becauseAn-ti-go-neis a word of four syllables. We know whence Lydgate obtained his 'white Antigone'; it was from Troilus, ii. 887, where we find 'fresshe Antigone the whyte.' Antigone was Criseyde's niece, and was so 'secree' that Pandarus considered her to be the most fitting person to accompany Criseyde when she visited Troilus (Troil. ii. 1563), and again when she came to visit Pandarus himself (iii. 597).

197.Hester, Esther; see Book Duch. 987; but especially Legend ofGood Women, 250: 'Ester, lay thou thymekenesseal adoun.'Judith; cf. Cant. Tales, B 939, 2289, 3761, E 1366.

198.Alceste, Alcestis; see L. G. W. 432, 511, 518.Marcia Catoun, Martia, daughter of Cato of Utica; see note to L. G. W. 252 (vol. iii. p. 298).

199.Grisilde; the Griselda of the Clerkes Tale. Again mentioned by Lydgate in the Temple of Glas, 75, 405, and elsewhere; see Schick's note to T.G. l. 75.

200, 201.Ariadne; see L. G. W. 268, 2078, &c.Lucrece, Lucretia; see the same, 1680; especially l. 1691:—'this Lucresse, that starfat Rome toun.'

203.Penelope; see note to L. G. W. 252.

204.Phyllis,Hipsiphilee; both in L. G. W.; 2394, 1368.

206.Canacee; may be either the Canace mentioned in L. G. W. 265, or the heroine of the Squieres Tale; probably the latter. See Schick, note to l. 137 of the Temple of Glas.

209.naught, not.falle, stoop, droop; hence, fail.

211-3. Dido slew herself; see L. G. W. 1351.

214.Medee, Medea; see L. G. W. 1580. But Chaucer does not there relate how Medea committed any 'outrage.' However, he refers to her murder of her children in the Cant. Tales, B 72.

216. 'That, while goodness and beauty are both under her dominion, she makes goodness have always the upper hand.' See l. 218.

221. Readn'offende, offend not. Probably the MS. hadnofende, which Thynne turned intone fende.

229. It is remarkable how often Lydgate describes his hand as 'quaking'; see Schick's note to the Temple of Glas, 947. Chaucer's hand quaked but once; Troil. iv. 14. Cf. note to XXII. 57 (p. 539).

232.suppryse, undertake, endeavour to do.Suppryseis from O.F.sousprendre, for which Godefroy gives the occasional sense 'entreprendre.'

234.lose, praise;out of lose, out of praise, discreditable.

236. Perhaps this means that Chaucer's decease was a very recent event. Schick proposes to date this piece between 1400 and 1402.

242. Chaucer invokes Clio at the beginning of Troilus, bk. ii. (l. 8); and Calliope at the beginning of bk. iii. (l. 45).

251. Cf. Compl. Mars, 13, 14. The metre almost seems to require an accent on the second syllable ofValentyn, with suppressed finale; but a much more pleasing line, though less regular, can be made by distributing the pauses artificially thus: Upón . the dáy of . saint Válen . týne . sínge. The wordsaintis altogether unemphatic; cf. ll. 4, 100.

257.fetheres ynde, blue feathers; possibly with a reference to blue as being the colour of constancy. Cf.floures inde; VIII. 127.

261. The woodbine is an emblem of constancy, as it clings to its support; cf. XX. 485-7.

X. IN COMMENDATION OF OUR LADY.

4, 5. In l. 4,fereis the Kentish form of 'fire.' In l. 5, Thynne again printsfere, but MS. A. hashyre(not a rime), and MS. Sl. haswere, which means 'doubt,' and is the right word.

7. Forher, we must readhis, as in l. 4. The reference is to Love or Cupid; see VIII. 354, and the note.

12. Cf. 'O wind, O wind, the weder ginneth clere,' &c.; Troil. ii. 2. Observe that Chaucer invokesCleo(Clio) in his next stanza.

22. We may compare this invocation with Chaucer's ABC, and his introduction to the Second Nonnes Tale; but there is not much resemblance. Observe the free use of alliteration throughout ll. 22-141.

24. 'O pleasant ever-living one' seems to be meant; but it is very obscure. Notice that the excellent Sloane MS. hasO lusty lemand(=leming), O pleasant shining one. Perhaps we should readlemingforliving; cf. l. 25.

27. Cf. 'Haven of refut'; ABC, 14.up to ryve, to arrive at; seerivein Halliwell.

28. The five joys of the Virgin are occasionally alluded to. See the poem on this subject in An Old Eng. Miscellany, ed. Morris, p. 87. The five joys were (1) at the Annunciation; (2) when she bore Christ; (3) when Christ rose from the dead; (4) when she saw Him ascend into heaven; (5) at her own Assumption into heaven.

30. 'And cheering course, for one to complain to for pity.' Very obscure.

52.propyne, give to drink; a usage found in the Vulgate version of Jer. xxv. 15: 'Sume calicem ... etpropinabisde illo cunctis gentibus.'

56. Cf.magnificencein Ch. Sec. Nonnes Tale, G 50.

58.put in prescripcioun, i.e. prescribed, recommended.

60. Cf. 'I flee for socour to thy tente'; ABC, 41.

64.itinerárie, a description of the way.

65.bravie, prize, especially in an athletic contest; Lat.brauium, Gk.βραβεῖον, in 1 Cor. ix. 24. See note to C. T., D 75.

66.diourn denárie, daily pay, as of a penny a day; referring to Matt. xx. 2: 'Conventione autem facta cum operariis exdenario diurno.'

68.Laureat crowne, crown of laurel.

69.palestre, a wrestling-match; cf. Troil. v. 304.

70.lake, fine white linen cloth; as in C. T., B 2048.

71.citole, harp; as in C. T., A 1959.

78. 'The wedded turtel, with her herte trewe'; Parl. Foules, 355.

83.Phebus; here used, in an extraordinary manner, of the Holy Spirit, as being the spirit of wisdom; perhaps suggested by the mention of thecolumbe(or dove) in l. 79.

87. Here Thynne printsdyametre, but the Sloane MS. corrects him.

88.Fewe feres, few companions; i.e. few equals.

92, 93.loupe; cf. F.loupe, an excrescence, fleshy kernel, knot in wood, lens, knob. It was also a term in jewellery. Littré has: 'pierre précieuse que la nature n'a pas achevée. Loupe de saphir, loupe de rubis, certaines parties imparfaites et grossières qui se trouvent quelquefois dans ces pierres.' Hence it is not a very happy epithet, but Lydgate must have meant it in a good sense, as expressing the densest portion of a jewel; hence his 'stable (i.e. firm) as the loupe.' Similarly he explainsewageas being 'fresshest of visage,' i.e. clearest in appearance.Ewagewas a term applied to a jacinth of the colour of sea-water; see New E. Dict. and P. Plowman, B. ii. 14; but it is here described asblue, and must therefore refer to a stone of the colour of water in a lake.

98. Readhértèfor the scansion; but it is a bad line. It runs:—And hém . recéyvest . wíth . hértè . ful tréwe.

99.gladded, gladdened; referring to the Annunciation.

102.obumbred, spread like a shadow; 'uirtus Altissimiobumbrabittibi'; Luke, i. 35. This explainsto thee, which answers totibi.

106. This stanza refers to Christ rather than to Mary; see l. 112. But Mary is referred to as thegroundon which He built (l. 111).

107. Cf. Isaiah, xi. 1; Jerem. xxiii. 5.

110.corn, grain; 'suscitabo Dauid germen iustum'; Jer. xxiii. 5. Cf. 'ex semine Dauid uenit Christus; John, vii. 42.

111.ground; the ground upon which it pleased Him to build. Referring to Mary.

113.vytre, glass; Lat.uitreum. The Virgin was often likened to glass; sun-rays pass through it, and leave it pure.

114.Tytan, sun; curiously applied. Christ seems to be meant; see l. 116. Butthyin l. 115 again refers to Mary. Hence, in l. 114 (as in 116) we should readhisforthy.

118.Sunamyte, Shunammite; Lat.Sunamitis, 2 Kings, iv. 25. She was an emblem of the Virgin, because her son was raised from the dead.

119.Mesure, moderate, assuage.Margaryte, pearl; as an epithet of the Virgin.

121.punical pome, pomegranate; Pliny hasPunicum malumin this sense; Nat. Hist. xiii. 19.

122.bouk and boon, body and bone; seeBoukin the New E. Dict.

123.agnelet, little lamb; not in the New E. Dict., because this stanza is now first printed.

126.habounde, abundant; of this adj. the New E. Dict, gives two examples.

128.Cockle, shell; referring to the shell in which the pearl was supposed to be generated by dew. See note to I. ii. 12. 47, p. 475.

129. 'O bush unbrent'; C. T., B 1658; see the note,fyrles, set on fire without any fire (i.e. without visible cause).

132. Referring to Gideon's fleece; Judges, vi. 39.

133. Referring to Aaron's rod that budded; Heb. ix. 4.

134.misty, mystic; cf. 'mysty,misticus,' in Prompt. Parv.

arke, ark; the ark of the covenant.

probatik; certainly the right reading (as in MS. Sl.), instead ofprobatyforprobatyfe, as in A. and Thynne. The reference is to the O.F. phrasepiscine probatique, which Godefroy explains as being a cistern of water, near Solomon's temple, in which the sheep were washed before being sacrificed. The phrase was borrowed immediately from the Vulgate version of John v. 2: 'Est autem Ierosolymisprobatica piscina, quae cognominatur hebraice Bethsaida'; i.e. the reference is to the well-known pool of Bethesda. The Greek has:ἐπὶ τῇ προβατικῇ κολυμβήθρα. The etymology is obvious, from Gk.πρόβατον, a sheep. We may translate the phrase by 'sheep-cleansing pool.' Cotgrave explains it very well; he has: 'piscine probatique, a pond for the washing of the sheep that were, by the Law, to be sacrificed.'

135.Aurora, dawn; mentioned in Ch. L. G. W. 774. Cf. 'al the orientlaugheth'; C. T., A 1494. And cf. 'Th'olyve of pees'; Parl. Foules, 181.

136. 'Column, with its base, which bears up (or supports) out of the abysmal depth.'

137. 'Why could I not be skilful?'

140. I make up this line as best I can; the readings are all bad.

Note that, at this point, the MS. copies come to an end, and so does the alliteration. Poem no. XI is joined on to no. X in Thynne without any break, but is obviously a different piece, addressed to an earthly mistress.

XI. TO MY SOVERAIN LADY.

1. Imitated from C. T., B 778: 'I ne have noon English digne,' &c. Cf. l. 41. And see the Introduction.

8. 'For if I could sing what I feel in love, I would (gladly do so).'

14. 'I have all my trust in thee.' The scansion is got by grouping the syllables thus: J'áy . en vóus . tóute . má . fiáunce. It is a line of the Lydgate type, in which the first syllable in the normal line, and the first syllable after the cæsura, are alike dropped.

17.thou knette, mayst thou knit; the subj. or optative mood.

21. This quotation is most interesting, being taken from the first line in 'Merciless Beauty'; Ch. Minor Poems; no. XI. Cf. l. 54.

23.it is; pronounced either asit'sor't is. The latter sounds better.

26. The substitution ofginneforbeginnemuch improves the line.

on esperaunce, in hope.

44.in o degree, (being) always in one state.

49. 'Weep for me, if a lover pleases you.'

56. 'So much it grieves to be away from my lady.'

59. 'Now my heart has what it wished for.'

64.were, should be, ought to be (subjunctive).

68.go love, go and love, learn to love.wher, whether.

77.and also, including. The 'fair' Rosamond is mentioned in P. Plowman, B. xii. 48; which shews that her name was proverbial.

98. 'Embrace me closely with a joyful heart.'

100. 'The ardent hope that pricks my heart, is dead; the hope—to gain the love of her whom I desire.'

103. 'And I know well that it is not my fault; (the fault of me) who sing for you, as I may, by way of lament at your departure.' O.F.sai, I know, is a correct form.

107.sad, fixed, resolute, firm, constant.

XII. BALLAD OF GOOD COUNSEL.

7. Cf. Prov. xvii. 20: 'He that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.'

15.equipolent, equal in power; used by Hoccleve (New E. Dict.).

16.peregal, the same asparegal, fully equal; Troil. v. 840.

22. I follow the order of stanzas in MS. H. (Harl. 2251), which is more complete than any other copy, as it alone contains ll. 71-7. Th. and Ff. transpose this stanza and the next one.

23.amorousis evidently used as a term of disparagement, i.e. 'wanton.'

33.this is; pronounced asthis, as often elsewhere.

40.deslavee, loose, unchaste; see Gloss. to Chaucer.

45. Accentdévourouron the first syllable.

60.dissolucioun, dissolute behaviour.

71-7. In Harl. 2251 only. In l. 71, readis; the MS. hasin.

73. The missing word is obviouslymene, i.e. middling; missed because the similar wordmenhappened to follow it.

78.prudentseems here to be used in a bad sense; cf. mod. E. 'knowing.'

86. In the course of ll. 86-103, Lydgate contrives to mention all the Nine Worthies except Godfrey of Bouillon; i.e. he mentions David, Joshua, Judas Maccabaeus, Hector, Julius Caesar, Alexander, Charles (Charlemagne), and King Arthur. His other examples are Solomon, Troilus, Tullius Cicero, Seneca, and Cato; all well known.

96. Thynne has—'WithalAlisaundres.' The wordalis needless, and probably due to repeating the first syllable ofAlisaundre.

107. We now come to examples of famous women.Hestreis Esther, andGriseldes, the Grisildis of Chaucer's Clerkes Tale. Others are Judith (in the Apocrypha), Polyxena, Penelope, Helen, Medea, Marcia the daughter of Marcus Cato Uticensis (see note to Legend of Good Women, 252), and Alcestis. They are all taken from Chaucer; Esther, Polyxena, Penelope, Helen, 'Marcia Catoun,' are all mentioned in the 'Balade' in Legend of Good Women, Prologue, B-text, 249-69;and Alcestis is the heroine of the same Prologue. The Legend contains the story of Medea at length; and Judith is celebrated in the Monkes Tale. See the similar list in IX. 190-210.

110. ForPolicenes, Ff. hasPenilops(!); but Penelope is mentioned in l. 113.Policenesis right; see IX. 190.

115. ForEleynes, the printed editions have the astonishing readingHolynesse, a strange perversion ofHeleynes.

121.kerve, cut; suggested by Chaucer's use offorkervethin the Manciple's Tale, H 340. Thisistolerably certain, as in l. 129 he again refers to the same Tale, H 332-4.

130. Chaucer does not mention Cato; he merely says—'Thus lerne children whan that they ben yonge.' Both Chaucer and Lydgate had no doubt been taught some of the sayings of Dionysius Cato in their youth; for see Troil. iii. 293-4. This particular precept occurs in the third distich in Cato's first book; i.e. almost at the very beginning. See note to C. T., H 332 (vol. v. p. 443).

XIII. BEWARE OF DOUBLENESS.

This piece is gently ironical throughout, as, for example, in ll. 15, 23, 31, 39, 47, &c.

30.abit, abideth, abides, remains, is constant.

32 (footnote). The remark in the margin—'Per antifrasim'—simply means that the text is ironical.

48.tache, defect; this is Shakespeare'stouch, in the same sense; Troilus and Cressida, iii. 3. 175.

51.sliper, slippery; A.S.slipor; as in XVI. 262. Cf. HF. 2154, and the note.

55. 'Who can (so) guide their sail as to row their boat with craft.' Not clearly put. Is there a reference to Wade's boat? Cf. C. T., E 1424, and the note. The irony seems here to be dropped, as in ll. 71, 79.

75.sys and sink, six and five, a winning throw at hazard; see C. T., B 124, and the note.avaunce, get profit, make gain.

77, 78. Heresetteseems to mean 'lay a stake upon,' in the game of hazard; when, if the player throws double aces (ambes as), he loses; see the note on C. T., B 124 as above; and seeAmbs-Acein the New E. Dict. It is amusing to find that Stowe so wholly misunderstood the text as to printlombes, as(see footnote on p. 293); forlombesmeans 'lambs'!

83.innocenceis, I suppose, to be taken ironically; but the constancy of Rosamond and Cleopatra is appealed to as being real. For the ballad of 'Fair Rosamond,' see Percy's Reliques of Ancient Poetry.

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