AGAINST VENEMOUS TONGUES.

I wold sum manys bake ink horneWher thi nose spectacle case]

I wold sum manys bake ink horne

Wher thi nose spectacle case]

—manys, i. e. man’s:bake, i. e. back:Wher, i. e. Were. Compare our author’s poem against Dundas, v. 37. vol. i. 194, and Bale’sKynge Iohan, p. 35. Camden ed.

v. 135.wyll] i. e. well; as before in this poem.

v. 136.ouyrthwarthe] i. e. overthwart,—cross, perverse, cavillous, captious.

v. 144.steuyn] i. e. voice.

v. 145.follest] i. e. foulest.

v. 146.lyddyr] Orlither,—is—sluggish, slothful, idle; but the word is often used in the more general meaning of wicked, evil, depraved.

Page 130. v. 146.lewde] i. e. ignorant.

v. 147.well thewde] i. e. well dispositioned, well mannered.

Page 131. v. 148.Besy] i. e. Busy.

v. 149.Syr Wrig wrag] A term several times used by Skelton; see note, p. 189. v. 186.

v. 151.slyght] i. e. trick, contrivance.

v. 153.to mykkylle] i. e. too much.

v. 154.I xulde but lese] i. e. I should but lose.

v. 155.tragydese] i. e. tragedies. Skelton does not mean here dramatic pieces: compare his pieceAgainst the Scottes, v. 72. vol. i. 184. So Lydgate’s celebrated poem,TheTragedies, gathered by Iohn Bochas, of all such Princes as fell from theyr estates, &c.

v. 157.my proces for to saue]—proces, i. e. story; see notes, p. 143. v. 735. p. 146. v. 969. So our author in hisWhy come ye nat to Courte;

“Than, ourprocesse for to stable.”v. 533. vol. ii. 43.

“Than, ourprocesse for to stable.”

v. 533. vol. ii. 43.

v. 158.xall] i. e. shall.

v. 162.a tyd] i. e. betime.

v. 164.Haruy Haftar] See note, p. 107. v. 138.

v. 166.xulde] i. e. should.

v. 170.hay ... ray] Names of dances, the latter less frequently mentioned than the former:

“I can dauncethe raye, I can both pipe and sing.”Barclay’sFirst Egloge, sig. A ii. ed. 1570.

“I can dauncethe raye, I can both pipe and sing.”

Barclay’sFirst Egloge, sig. A ii. ed. 1570.

v. 171.fonde] i. e. foolish.

v. 173.lewdenes] i. e. ignorance, baseness, worthlessness.

v. 176.spynt] i. e. spent, employed.

v. 180.I xall thé aquyte] i. e. I shall requite thee.

Page 132.Psalm cxlij.]Vulg.cxix. 3.

Psal. lxvii.]Vulg.li. 7.

v. 4.Hoyning] “Hoigner.To grumble, mutter, murmure; to repine; also, to whyne as a child or dog.” Cotgrave’sDict.“Hoi, a word vsed in driuing hogges,” says Minsheu; who proceeds to derive it “a Gr. κοΐ, quod est imitatio vocis porcellorum.”Guide into Tongues.

——groynis] See note, p. 180. v. 2.

——wrotes] i. e. roots.

Page 132. v. 2.made ... a windmil of an olde mat] The same expression occurs again in our author’sMagnyfycence, v. 1040. vol. i. 258.

v. 4.commaunde] i. e. commend.

——Cok wat] See note, p. 108. v. 173.

Page 133. v. 2.lack] i. e. fault, blame.

v. 3.In your crosse rowe nor Christ crosse you spede]—crosse rowe, i. e. alphabet; so called, it is commonly said, because a cross was prefixed to it, or perhaps because it was written in the form of a cross. See Nares’sGloss.in v.Christ-cross.Christ crosse you spedealludes to some other elementary form of instruction:

“How long agoo lerned yeCrist crosse me spede?”Lydgate’sProhemy of a mariage, &c.,—MS. Harl.372. fol. 50.

“How long agoo lerned yeCrist crosse me spede?”

Lydgate’sProhemy of a mariage, &c.,—MS. Harl.372. fol. 50.

and see title of a poem cited p. 167. v. 296.

v. 7.cognisaunce] i. e. badge.

v. 1.scole] i. e. school, teaching.

——haute] i. e. high, lofty.

v. 2.faute] i. e. fault.

v. 2.faitours] Has been explained before (see p. 91. v. 172)—deceivers, dissemblers; and is rendered by Tyrwhitt (Gloss.to Chaucer’sCant. Tales), lazy, idle fellows; but here the word seems to be used as a general term of reproach,—scoundrels.

——half straught] i. e. half in their senses.

v. 4.liddrous] See note, p. 193. v. 146.

——lewde] i. e. ignorant, vile.

v. 3.vale of bonet of their proude sayle]—vale, i. e. lower:bonetmeans a small sail attached to the larger sails.

v. 4.ill hayle] See note, p. 176. v. 617.

Page 134. v. 4.vntayde] i. e. untied, loose.

——renning] i. e. running.

v. 7.lewdly alowed] i. e., perhaps, ignorantly approved of.

v. 9.vertibilite] i. e. variableness.

v. 10.folabilite] i. e. folly.

v. 12.coarte] i. e. coarct, constrain.

v. 13.hay the gy of thre] Perhaps an allusion to the dance calledheydeguies(a word variously spelt).

v. 2.Pharaotis] i. e. (I suppose) Pharaoh.

v. 1.vnhappy] i. e. mischievous.

Page 135. v. 2.atame] i. e. tame.

v. 1.tratlers] i. e. prattlers, tattlers.

v. 3.Scalis Malis] i. e. Cadiz. “The tounes men of Caleis, orCaleis males, sodainly rong their common bell,” &c. Hall’sChronicle(Hen. viii.), fol. xiii. ed. 1548. “His fortunatest piece I esteem the taking ofCadiz Malez.”A Parallel of the Earl of Essex and the Duke of Buckingham,—Reliquiæ Wottonianæ, p. 177. ed. 1672.

Page 135. v. 4.nut shalis] i. e. nutshells.

v. 7.ren] i. e. run.

——lesinges] i. e. falsehoods.

v. 8.wrate suche a bil] i. e. wrote such a letter.

v. 10.ill apayed] i. e. ill pleased, ill satisfied.

v. 1.hight] i. e. is called.

v. 2.quight] i. e. requite.

v. 5.Although he made it neuer so tough] The expression,to make it tough, i. e. to make difficulties, occurs frequently, and with several shades of meaning, in our early writers; see R. of Gloucester’sChronicle, p. 510. ed. Hearne, and the various passages cited in Tyrwhitt’sGloss.to Chaucer’sCant. Talesin v.Tough. Palsgrave has “IMake it toughI make it coye as maydens do or persons that be strange if they be asked a questyon.”Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccxcii. (Table of Verbes).

Page 137. v. 5.hym lyst] i. e. pleases him.

v. 6.couenable] i. e. fit.

v. 10.sad] i. e. serious.

v. 17.trauell] i. e. travail, labour.

v. 21.prease] i. e. press, throng.

Page 138. v. 23.lacke] i. e. blame.

v. 24.rotys] i. e. roots.

——vere] i. e. spring.

Quod] i. e. Quoth.

Page 139. v. 7.Agayne] i. e. Against.

v. 8.woundis fyue] A common expression in our early poetry;

“Jhesu, forthi woundes five,” &c.Minot’sPoems, p. 5. ed. Ritson.

“Jhesu, forthi woundes five,” &c.

Minot’sPoems, p. 5. ed. Ritson.

See too Dunbar’sPoems, i. 229. ed. Laing.

Page 140. v. 10.blo] i. e. livid; see note, p. 103. v. 3.

Is mentioned by our author as one of his compositions in theGarlande of Laurell, v. 1418. vol. i. 417.

With the opening of this piece compare Hawes’sConuercyon of Swerers, where Christ is made to exclaim,

“They newe agayne do hange me on the rode,They tere my sydes, and are nothynge dysmayde,My woundes they do open, and deuoure my blode:I, god and man, moostwofully arayde,To you complayne,it maye not be denayde;Ye nowe to lugge me, ye tere me at the roote,Yet I to you am chefe refuyte and bote.”

“They newe agayne do hange me on the rode,

They tere my sydes, and are nothynge dysmayde,

My woundes they do open, and deuoure my blode:

I, god and man, moostwofully arayde,

To you complayne,it maye not be denayde;

Ye nowe to lugge me, ye tere me at the roote,

Yet I to you am chefe refuyte and bote.”

and a little after,

“Why arte thouharde herted,” &c.Sig. A iii. ed. n. d. 4to.

“Why arte thouharde herted,” &c.

Sig. A iii. ed. n. d. 4to.

Barclay too has,

“Some sweareth armes, nayles, heart, and body,Tearing our Lorde worse then the Jewes himarayde.”The Ship of Fooles, fol. 33. ed. 1570.

“Some sweareth armes, nayles, heart, and body,Tearing our Lorde worse then the Jewes himarayde.”

“Some sweareth armes, nayles, heart, and body,

Tearing our Lorde worse then the Jewes himarayde.”

The Ship of Fooles, fol. 33. ed. 1570.

Woffully araidis, I believe, equivalent to—wofully disposed of or treated, in a woful condition. “Arayecondicion or casepoynt.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xviii. (Table of Subst.)—(and see note, p. 164. v. 163).

“Isaac.What have I done, fader, what have I saide?Abraham.Truly, no kyns ille to me.Isaac.And thus gyltles shalle bearayde.”Abraham,—Towneley Mysteries, p. 40.

“Isaac.What have I done, fader, what have I saide?Abraham.Truly, no kyns ille to me.Isaac.And thus gyltles shalle bearayde.”

“Isaac.What have I done, fader, what have I saide?

Abraham.Truly, no kyns ille to me.

Isaac.And thus gyltles shalle bearayde.”

Abraham,—Towneley Mysteries, p. 40.

—“His [Tybert’s] body was al to beten, and blynde on the one eye. Whan the kynge wyste this, that tybert was thusarayed, he was sore angry, &c.”Reynard the Fox, sig. b 8. ed. 1481. Again in the same romance, when Isegrym the wolf has received a kick on the head from a mare, he says to Reynard, “I am so foulearayedand sore hurte, that an herte of stone myght haue pyte of me.” Sig. f 4.

“Who was wyth loue: morewofully arayedThan were these twayne.”Hawes’sPastime of pleasure, sig. I iiii. ed. 1555.

“Who was wyth loue: morewofully arayedThan were these twayne.”

“Who was wyth loue: morewofully arayed

Than were these twayne.”

Hawes’sPastime of pleasure, sig. I iiii. ed. 1555.

“I am fowlearayedwith a chyne cowgh.Laceorpertussi.”—“He was sorearayedwith sycknesse. Morbo atrociterconflictus est.” HormanniVulgaria, sigs. II iii. I ii. ed. 1530.

Page 141. v. 4.naid] i. e. denied.

v. 5.bloo] i. e. livid; see note, p. 103. v. 3.

v. 8.encheson] i. e. cause.

v. 9.Sith] i. e. Since.

v. 12.fretid] Equivalent to—galled.

v. 14.mowid] i. e. made mouths at, mocked.

v. 19.hart rote] i. e. heart-root.

Page 141. v. 20.panys] i. e. pains.

——vaynys] i. e. veins.

——crake] i. e. crack.

Page 142. v. 24.

Entretid thus in most cruell wyse,Was like a lombe offerd in sacrifice]

Entretid thus in most cruell wyse,

Was like a lombe offerd in sacrifice]

Entretid, i. e. Treated. So in a “litel dite” by Lydgate, appended to hisTestamentum;

“Drawen as a felonin moost cruel wyse...Was lik a lamb offryd in sacrifise.”MS. Harl.2255. fol. 64.

“Drawen as a felonin moost cruel wyse...Was lik a lamb offryd in sacrifise.”

“Drawen as a felonin moost cruel wyse

...

Was lik a lamb offryd in sacrifise.”

MS. Harl.2255. fol. 64.

v. 29.bobbid] i. e. struck. So Lydgate in the piece just cited;

“Bete and ekebobbid.”Ibid.

“Bete and ekebobbid.”

Ibid.

and in theCoventry Mysteries, Nichodemus seeing Christ on the cross, says

“Why haue ȝebobbydand thus betyn owthAll his blyssyd blood?”MS. Cott. Vesp.D viii. fol. 186.

“Why haue ȝebobbydand thus betyn owthAll his blyssyd blood?”

“Why haue ȝebobbydand thus betyn owth

All his blyssyd blood?”

MS. Cott. Vesp.D viii. fol. 186.

——robbid] i. e. (I suppose) robed.

v. 30.Onfayned] Generally means un-glad, displeased, which even in the forced sense of—to my sorrow, is against the intention of the passage: it seems to be used here for—Unfeignedly: and see note, p. 207. v. 81.

——deynyd] i. e. disdained;

“Youthdaynethcounsell, scorning discretion.”Barclay’sFifth Egloge, sig. D ii. ed. 1570.

“Youthdaynethcounsell, scorning discretion.”

Barclay’sFifth Egloge, sig. D ii. ed. 1570.

v. 33.myȝt] i. e. might.

v. 39.enterly] i. e. entirely.

v. 43.ȝytt] i. e. yet.

v. 45.race] i. e. tear, wound.

v. 48.Butt gyve me thyne hert]—hert, i. e. heart. With this and v. 41 compare Lydgate’s “litel dite” already cited;

“Gyff me thyn herte, and be no morvnkynde.”MS. Harl.2255. fol. 66.

“Gyff me thyn herte, and be no morvnkynde.”

MS. Harl.2255. fol. 66.

Page 143. v. 49.wrouȝt] i. e. wrought, formed.

——bowgȝt] i. e. bought, redeemed.

v. 50.hyȝt] i. e. high.

v. 55.sawlys] i. e. soul’s.

v. 59.Hytt] i. e. It.

——nayd] i. e. denied.

v. 60.blow] i. e. livid; see note, p. 103. v. 3.

This piece is mentioned by Skelton as his own composition in theGarlands of Laurell, v. 1420. vol. i. 417.

Page 144. v. 1.

Now synge we as we were wont,Vexilla regis prodeunt]

Now synge we as we were wont,

Vexilla regis prodeunt]

Compare Lydgate;

“WhereforeI synge as I was wontVexilla regis prodeunt.”Poem about various birds singing praises to God,—MS. Harl.2251. fol. 38.

“WhereforeI synge as I was wontVexilla regis prodeunt.”

“WhereforeI synge as I was wont

Vexilla regis prodeunt.”

Poem about various birds singing praises to God,—MS. Harl.2251. fol. 38.

The hymnVexilla regis prodeunt, &c. may be seen inHymni Ecclesiæ e Breviario Parisiensi, 1838, p. 71. I ought to add that the present poem is not a translation of it.

v. 3.onfelde is [s]playd] i. e. is displayed on field.

v. 4.nayd] i. e. denied.

v. 11.thees] i. e. thighs.

v. 13.pyne] i. e. pain.

v. 14.spylt] i. e. destroyed, put to death.

v. 17.dong] i. e. dung, struck.

Page 145. v. 25.fote] i. e. foot.

v. 31.Syth] i. e. Since.

v. 33.chere] i. e. spirit,—or reception.

v. 35.lykes] i. e. pleases.

v. 40.eysell] i. e. vinegar.

v. 51.doone] i. e. done.

Page 146. v. 60.isprode] i. e. spread.

v. 68.payne] i. e. labour, strive.

v. 71.mys] i. e. miss, fail.

v. 72.Withouten nay] i. e. Without contradiction, assuredly.

v. 74.hardnes] i. e. cruelty.

Page 147. v. 7.gentis Agarenæ] i. e. of the race of Hagar.

In giving this poem a place among our author’s undoubted productions, I now apprehend that I deferred too much to the judgment of my friend Mr. J. P. Collier, who had recently reprinted it without suspecting its genuineness. It may, after all, be Skelton’s; but at any rate it is only arifacimentoof the following verses,—found inMS. Sloane, 747. fol. 88, and very difficult to decipher:

“So propre cappesSo lytle hattesAnd so false hartesSaw y never.So wyde gownesIn cytees and townesAnd so many sellers of bromysSay I never.Suche garded huoes [hose]Suche playted shoesAnd suche a poseSay y never.Dowbletes not[?] sydeThe syde so wydeAnd so moche prideWas never.So many ryven shertesSo well appareld chyrchesAnd so many lewed clerkesSay I never.So fayre coursersSo godely trappersAnd so fewe foluersSay y never.So many fayere suerdesSo lusty knyghtes and lordesAnd so fewe covered bordesSay I never.So joly garded clokesSo many clyppers of grotesAnd go vntyde be the throtesSay I never.So many wyde pu[r]cesAnd so fewe gode horsesAnd so many cursesSay y never.Suche bosters and braggersAnd suche newe facyshyont daggersAnd so many cursersSay I never.So many propere knyffesSo well apparelld wyfesAnd so evyll of there lyfesSay I never.The stretes so swepyngeWith wemen clothyngeAnd so moche sweryngeSay I never.Suche blendynge of leggesIn townes and heggesAnd so many pleggesSay I never.Of wymen kyndeLased be hyndeSo lyke the fendeSay I never.So many spyesSo many lyesAnd so many thevysSay I never.So many wrongesSo few mery songgesAnd so many ivel tongesSay I neuer.So moche trecherySymony and vseryPoverte and lecherySay I never.So fewe saylesSo lytle avaylesAnd so many jaylesSawe y never.So many esterlyngesLombardes and flemyngesTo bere awey our wynyngesSawe I never.Be there sotyll weysAl Englande decaysFor suche false JanuayesSawe I neuer.Amonge the rycheWhere frenship ys to secheBut so fayre glosynge specheSawe I never.So many pooreComynge to the doreAnd so litle socourSawe I never.So prowde and say [gay?]So joly in arayAnd so litle moneySawe I never.So many sellersSo fewe byersAnd so many marchaunt taylorsSawe I never.Executores havynge mony and wareThan havynge so litle careHow the pore sowle shall fareSawe I never.So many lawers vseThe truthe to refuseAnd suche falsehed excuseSawe I never.Whan a man ys dedeHis wiffe so shortely wedAnd havynge suche hast to bedSawe I neuer.So many maydens blamedWrongefully not defamedAnd beyenge so lytle ashamydSawe I never.Relygiouse in cloystere closydAnd prestes and large[272]losedBeyenge so evyll disposydSawe I never.God saue our sovereygne lord the kyngeAnd alle his royal spryngeFor so noble a prince reyny[n]geSawe I never.”

“So propre cappesSo lytle hattesAnd so false hartesSaw y never.

“So propre cappes

So lytle hattes

And so false hartes

Saw y never.

So wyde gownesIn cytees and townesAnd so many sellers of bromysSay I never.

So wyde gownes

In cytees and townes

And so many sellers of bromys

Say I never.

Suche garded huoes [hose]Suche playted shoesAnd suche a poseSay y never.

Suche garded huoes [hose]

Suche playted shoes

And suche a pose

Say y never.

Dowbletes not[?] sydeThe syde so wydeAnd so moche prideWas never.

Dowbletes not[?] syde

The syde so wyde

And so moche pride

Was never.

So many ryven shertesSo well appareld chyrchesAnd so many lewed clerkesSay I never.

So many ryven shertes

So well appareld chyrches

And so many lewed clerkes

Say I never.

So fayre coursersSo godely trappersAnd so fewe foluersSay y never.

So fayre coursers

So godely trappers

And so fewe foluers

Say y never.

So many fayere suerdesSo lusty knyghtes and lordesAnd so fewe covered bordesSay I never.

So many fayere suerdes

So lusty knyghtes and lordes

And so fewe covered bordes

Say I never.

So joly garded clokesSo many clyppers of grotesAnd go vntyde be the throtesSay I never.

So joly garded clokes

So many clyppers of grotes

And go vntyde be the throtes

Say I never.

So many wyde pu[r]cesAnd so fewe gode horsesAnd so many cursesSay y never.

So many wyde pu[r]ces

And so fewe gode horses

And so many curses

Say y never.

Suche bosters and braggersAnd suche newe facyshyont daggersAnd so many cursersSay I never.

Suche bosters and braggers

And suche newe facyshyont daggers

And so many cursers

Say I never.

So many propere knyffesSo well apparelld wyfesAnd so evyll of there lyfesSay I never.

So many propere knyffes

So well apparelld wyfes

And so evyll of there lyfes

Say I never.

The stretes so swepyngeWith wemen clothyngeAnd so moche sweryngeSay I never.

The stretes so swepynge

With wemen clothynge

And so moche swerynge

Say I never.

Suche blendynge of leggesIn townes and heggesAnd so many pleggesSay I never.

Suche blendynge of legges

In townes and hegges

And so many plegges

Say I never.

Of wymen kyndeLased be hyndeSo lyke the fendeSay I never.

Of wymen kynde

Lased be hynde

So lyke the fende

Say I never.

So many spyesSo many lyesAnd so many thevysSay I never.

So many spyes

So many lyes

And so many thevys

Say I never.

So many wrongesSo few mery songgesAnd so many ivel tongesSay I neuer.

So many wronges

So few mery songges

And so many ivel tonges

Say I neuer.

So moche trecherySymony and vseryPoverte and lecherySay I never.

So moche trechery

Symony and vsery

Poverte and lechery

Say I never.

So fewe saylesSo lytle avaylesAnd so many jaylesSawe y never.

So fewe sayles

So lytle avayles

And so many jayles

Sawe y never.

So many esterlyngesLombardes and flemyngesTo bere awey our wynyngesSawe I never.

So many esterlynges

Lombardes and flemynges

To bere awey our wynynges

Sawe I never.

Be there sotyll weysAl Englande decaysFor suche false JanuayesSawe I neuer.

Be there sotyll weys

Al Englande decays

For suche false Januayes

Sawe I neuer.

Amonge the rycheWhere frenship ys to secheBut so fayre glosynge specheSawe I never.

Amonge the ryche

Where frenship ys to seche

But so fayre glosynge speche

Sawe I never.

So many pooreComynge to the doreAnd so litle socourSawe I never.

So many poore

Comynge to the dore

And so litle socour

Sawe I never.

So prowde and say [gay?]So joly in arayAnd so litle moneySawe I never.

So prowde and say [gay?]

So joly in aray

And so litle money

Sawe I never.

So many sellersSo fewe byersAnd so many marchaunt taylorsSawe I never.

So many sellers

So fewe byers

And so many marchaunt taylors

Sawe I never.

Executores havynge mony and wareThan havynge so litle careHow the pore sowle shall fareSawe I never.

Executores havynge mony and ware

Than havynge so litle care

How the pore sowle shall fare

Sawe I never.

So many lawers vseThe truthe to refuseAnd suche falsehed excuseSawe I never.

So many lawers vse

The truthe to refuse

And suche falsehed excuse

Sawe I never.

Whan a man ys dedeHis wiffe so shortely wedAnd havynge suche hast to bedSawe I neuer.

Whan a man ys dede

His wiffe so shortely wed

And havynge suche hast to bed

Sawe I neuer.

So many maydens blamedWrongefully not defamedAnd beyenge so lytle ashamydSawe I never.

So many maydens blamed

Wrongefully not defamed

And beyenge so lytle ashamyd

Sawe I never.

Relygiouse in cloystere closydAnd prestes and large[272]losedBeyenge so evyll disposydSawe I never.

Relygiouse in cloystere closyd

And prestes and large[272]losed

Beyenge so evyll disposyd

Sawe I never.

God saue our sovereygne lord the kyngeAnd alle his royal spryngeFor so noble a prince reyny[n]geSawe I never.”

God saue our sovereygne lord the kynge

And alle his royal sprynge

For so noble a prince reyny[n]ge

Sawe I never.”

[272]and large] Qy. “at large?” but it is by no means certain that “large” is the reading of the MS.

Page 148. v. 9.gardes] i. e. facings, trimmings.

v. 10.Jagged] See note, p. 163. v. 124: but here probably (as certainly in v. 54) something ornamental is meant.

——al to-torne] See note, p. 100. v. 32.

v. 15.hostryes] i. e. inns.

v. 17.warkes] i. e. works.

v. 22.preves] i. e. proves; equivalent, perhaps, to—turn out well.

Page 149. v. 25.garded hose] i. e. faced, trimmed breeches.

v. 26.cornede] i. e. horned, pointed.

v. 29.questes] i. e. inquests.

v. 31.quitte] i. e. acquitted.

v. 50.crakers] i. e. vaunters, big talkers.

v. 54.cultyng and jagging] See note above, v. 10:cultyng, I believe, should becuttyng.

Page 150. v. 57.knackes] i. e. trifles, toys, or perhaps tricks.

v. 58.naughty packes] An expression which occurs again in our author’sGarlande of Laurell, v. 188. vol. i. 369, is common in writers of a much later date, and is not yet altogether obsolete (seeThe Dialect of Craven, &c. inNoughty-Pack),—equivalent to worthless, loose persons (properly, it would seem, cheaters; see Richardson’sDict.in v.Pack).

Page 151. v. 90.kepe tuche] i. e. keep contract, agreement.

v. 93.pore] i. e. poor.

v. 94.bordoure] i. e. border.

v. 101.bowyers] i. e. bow-makers.

v. 102.fletchers] i. e. arrow-makers.

v. 105.chepers] i. e. traffickers, sellers (compare the fourth stanza on the opposite page).

v. 109.alle sellers] i. e. ale-sellers.

v. 110.baudy] i. e. foul; see note, p. 161. v. 90.

——sellers] i. e. cellars.

v. 113.pinkers] Some cant term which I do not understand.

Page 152. v. 121.vacabounde] i. e. vagabond.

v. 122.londe] i. e. land.

v. 123.bonde] i. e. bound.

v. 129.fleyng] i. e. flying.

v. 130.males] i. e. bags, wallets, pouches.

Page 152. v. 138.covetous] i. e. covetise, covetousness.

v. 141.carders] i. e. card-players.

v. 143.yl ticers] i. e. evil-enticers.

v. 145.lollers] “Apostaticus ... anglice a renegade orloller.”Ortus Vocab.ed. 1514. “Lollar heretique.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlv. (Table of Subst.). So at the conclusion ofThe Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy, the termLollardis used to signify a heretic: see Dunbar’sPoems, ii. 445 (note), ed. Laing. Compare too our author’sReplycacion, &c. v. 204. vol. i. 215.

v. 146.tollers] i. e. tellers, speakers.

v. 147.pollers] i. e. plunderers.

Page 153. v. 153.So many avayles] An expression which I do not understand: the poem just given fromMS. Sloanehas “Solytleavayles;” see p. 201, last stanza but two.

v. 154.geales] i. e. gaols.

v. 161.jackes] i. e. jackets.

v. 163.partlettes] i. e. ruffs.

v. 166.tucking hookes] Another expression which I do not understand.

v. 169.song] i. e. sung.

v. 178.brybors] i. e. thieves,—properly, pilferers. “Briboure. Manticulus.”Prompt. Parv.ed. 1499; and see note on our author’sMagnyfycence, v. 1242.

v. 182.everichone] i. e. every one.

Page 154. v. 186.convenient] i. e. fitting, suitable.

This poem was evidently called forth by a real event; but the name of the “hawking parson” has not transpired. According to Barclay, skill in hawking sometimes advanced its possessor to a benefice;

“But if I durst truth plainely vtter and expresse,This is the speciall cause of this inconuenience,That greatest fooles, and fullest of lewdnes,Hauing least wit, and simplest science,Are first promoted, and haue greatest reuerence,For if one can flatter, andbeare a Hauke on his fist,He shalbe made Parson of Honington or of Clist.”The Ship of Fooles, fol. 2. ed. 1570.

“But if I durst truth plainely vtter and expresse,

This is the speciall cause of this inconuenience,

That greatest fooles, and fullest of lewdnes,

Hauing least wit, and simplest science,

Are first promoted, and haue greatest reuerence,

For if one can flatter, andbeare a Hauke on his fist,

He shalbe made Parson of Honington or of Clist.”

The Ship of Fooles, fol. 2. ed. 1570.

I may add, that afterwards, in the same work, when treating of indecorous behaviour at church, Barclay observes;

“Into the Church then comes another sotte,Without deuotion, ietting vp and downe,Or to be seene, and to showe his garded cote:Another on his fiste a Sparhauke or Fawcone,” &c.fol. 85.

“Into the Church then comes another sotte,Without deuotion, ietting vp and downe,Or to be seene, and to showe his garded cote:Another on his fiste a Sparhauke or Fawcone,” &c.

“Into the Church then comes another sotte,

Without deuotion, ietting vp and downe,

Or to be seene, and to showe his garded cote:

Another on his fiste a Sparhauke or Fawcone,” &c.

fol. 85.

Page 155. v. 5.abused] i. e. vitiated, depraved.

“Be all yonge galandes of theseabusedsorte,Whiche in yonge age vnto the court resorte?”Barclay’sThird Egloge, sig. C ii. ed. 1570.

“Be all yonge galandes of theseabusedsorte,Whiche in yonge age vnto the court resorte?”

“Be all yonge galandes of theseabusedsorte,

Whiche in yonge age vnto the court resorte?”

Barclay’sThird Egloge, sig. C ii. ed. 1570.

v. 8.daw] i. e. simpleton, fool; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 16.him fro] i. e. from him.

Page 156. v. 22.dysgysed] i. e. guilty of unbecoming conduct: so again in our author’sColyn Cloute;

“They mought be better aduysedThen to be sodysgysed.”v. 581. vol. i. 333.

“They mought be better aduysedThen to be sodysgysed.”

“They mought be better aduysed

Then to be sodysgysed.”

v. 581. vol. i. 333.

v. 30.apostrofacion] i. e. apostrophe.

v. 34.wrate] i. e. wrote.

v. 35.lewde] i. e. ignorant, worthless.

v. 42.Dis] Of which Skelton was rector; seeAccount of his Life and Writings.

v. 43.fonde] i. e. foolish.

——fauconer] i. e. falconer.

v. 44.pawtenar] “Pautner[Pawtenere,MS. Harl.221.]. Cassidile.”Prompt. Parv.ed. 1499. “Will. Brito:Cassidiledicitur pera Aucupis in modum reticuli facta, in quo ponit quos in casse, id est, rete, cepit.” Du Cange’sGloss.in v. “Pera ... anglice a skryppe or apawtner.”Ortus Vocab.fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d.

v. 48.hogeous] i. e. hugeous, huge.

v. 49.auter] i. e. altar.

v. 50.craked] i. e. talked vauntingly.

Page 157. v. 55.yede] i. e. went.

v. 56.pray] i. e. prey.

v. 60.tyrid] A term in falconry: the hawktiredon what was thrown to her, when she pulled at and tore it.

v. 62.mutid] i. e. dunged.

——a chase] Compare a passage in that curious tract, by Walter Smith,xii Mery Jests of the wyddow Edyth;

“Her potage & eke her ale were well poudredWith an holsome influence that surgeons callPouder Sinipari that wil make on cast his gall:”

“Her potage & eke her ale were well poudred

With an holsome influence that surgeons call

Pouder Sinipari that wil make on cast his gall:”

in consequence of which, she is compelled suddenly to quit the supper-table, and,

“When that she was vp, she got her foorth apace,And er she had walkt xxx fote, she markeda chaseAnd eftsones another, thrugh the Hal as she yede,” &c.Sig. f iii. ed. 1573.

“When that she was vp, she got her foorth apace,And er she had walkt xxx fote, she markeda chaseAnd eftsones another, thrugh the Hal as she yede,” &c.

“When that she was vp, she got her foorth apace,

And er she had walkt xxx fote, she markeda chase

And eftsones another, thrugh the Hal as she yede,” &c.

Sig. f iii. ed. 1573.

“Achaseat tennis is that spot where a ball falls, beyond which the adversary must strike his ball to gain a point or chace. At long tennis, it is the spot where the ball leaves off rolling.” Douce’sIllust. of Shakespeare, i. 485. Compare our author’sWhy come ye nat to Courte, v. 880. vol. ii. 53.

Page 157. v. 63.corporas] i. e. communion-cloth, the fine linen cloth used to cover thebody, or consecrated elements.

v. 65.gambawdis] i. e. gambols, pranks.

v. 66.wexid] i. e. waxed.

——gery] “Gerysshe, wylde or lyght heededfarouche.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxxxviii. (Table of Adiect.).

“Howegeryfortune furyous and wode.”Lydgate’sFall of Prynces, B. iii. leaf lxxvii. ed. Wayland.

“Howegeryfortune furyous and wode.”

Lydgate’sFall of Prynces, B. iii. leaf lxxvii. ed. Wayland.

“And as a swalowegerysheof her flyghte,Twene slowe and swifte, now croked nowe vpright.”Ibid.B. vi. leaf cxxxiiii.

“And as a swalowegerysheof her flyghte,Twene slowe and swifte, now croked nowe vpright.”

“And as a swalowegerysheof her flyghte,

Twene slowe and swifte, now croked nowe vpright.”

Ibid.B. vi. leaf cxxxiiii.

Tyrwhitt explains “gery—changeable.”Gloss.to Chaucer’sCant. Tales. Richardson observes that in the present passage of Skelton “it seems to begiddy(sc.) with turning round.”Dict.in v.

v. 69.the rode loft] A loft (generally placed just over the passage out of the church into the chancel,) where stood therood,—an image of Christ on the cross, with figures of the Virgin Mary and Saint John on each side of it: compare v. 126 of the present poem;

“His hawke then flew vpponThe rode with Mary and John”.

“His hawke then flew vppon

The rode with Mary and John”.

v. 70.perkyd] i. e. perched.

v. 71.fauconer] i. e. falconer.

——prest] i. e. ready.

v. 72.dow] i. e. pigeon.

v. 73.And cryed, Stow, stow, stow!] So Fansy, in our author’sMagnyfycence, exclaims to his hawk,

“Stowe, byrde,stowe, stowe!It is best I fede my hawke now.”v. 980. vol. i. 257.

“Stowe, byrde,stowe, stowe!It is best I fede my hawke now.”

“Stowe, byrde,stowe, stowe!

It is best I fede my hawke now.”

v. 980. vol. i. 257.

Compare Brathwait’sMerlin;

“Butstow, bird, stow,See now the game’s afoote,And white-mail’d Nisus,He is flying to’t.”Odes, p. 250, appended toNatures Embassie, 1621.

“Butstow, bird, stow,See now the game’s afoote,And white-mail’d Nisus,He is flying to’t.”

“Butstow, bird, stow,

See now the game’s afoote,

And white-mail’d Nisus,

He is flying to’t.”

Odes, p. 250, appended toNatures Embassie, 1621.

“Make them come from it to your fist, eyther much or little, with calling and chirping to them, saying: Towe, Towe, orStowe, Stowe, as Falconers vse.” Turbervile’sBooke of Falconrie, &c. p. 182. ed. 1611.

Page 157. v. 76.lure] See note, p. 147. v. 1100.

v. 78.endude] “She [the hawk]Enduythwhan her meete in her bowelles falle to dygestyon.”Book of St. Albans, by Juliana Barnes, sig. C iii.

v. 79.ensaymed] i. e. purged from her grease. “Ensaymeof an hawke,” says the lady just quoted, “is the greeys.” Sig. A v. See too “How you shallenseamea Hawke,” &c. in Turbervile’sBooke of Falconrie, &c. p. 115. ed. 1611.

v. 80.reclaymed] i. e. tamed; see note, p. 148. v. 1125.

v. 81.fawconer] i. e. falconer.

——vnfayned] Either, unfeignedly (in the next line but six is “notfaynenor forge”) or un-glad, displeased: see note, p. 198. v. 30.

Page 158. v. 83.lyst] i. e. liking, inclination.

v. 85.loked] i. e. looked.

——the frounce] Is a distemper in which a whitish foam gathers in wrinkles (frounces) about the hawk’s mouth and palate. “TheFrounceproceedeth of moist and cold humours, which descend from the hawkes head to their palate and the roote of the tongue. And of that cold is engendred in the tongue theFrownce,” &c. Turbervile’sBooke of Falconrie, &c. p. 303. ed. 1611.

v. 87.the gorge] “Is that part of the Hawk which first receiveth the meat, and is called the Craw or Crop in other fowls.” Latham’sFaulconry, (Explan. of Words of Art), 1658.

v. 89.clap] i. e. stroke.

v. 91.sparred] i. e. fastened, shut (“boltyd and barryd” being in the next line).

v. 93.wyth a prety gyn]—gyn, i. e. contrivance.

“Andwith a pretygynneGyue her husbande an horne.”The boke of mayd Emlyn, &c. n. d. sig. A ii.

“Andwith a pretygynneGyue her husbande an horne.”

“Andwith a pretygynne

Gyue her husbande an horne.”

The boke of mayd Emlyn, &c. n. d. sig. A ii.

v. 100.On Sainct John decollacion] i. e. On the festival of the beheading of St. John.

Page 158. v. 103.secundum Sarum] So in Sir D. Lyndsay’sComplaynt of the Papingo;

“Suppose the geis and hennis suld cry alarum,And we sall servesecundum usum Sarum.”Works, i. 327. ed. Chal.

“Suppose the geis and hennis suld cry alarum,And we sall servesecundum usum Sarum.”

“Suppose the geis and hennis suld cry alarum,

And we sall servesecundum usum Sarum.”

Works, i. 327. ed. Chal.

The proverbial expression, “It is donesecundum usum Sarum,” is thus explained by Fuller: “It began on this occasion; Many Offices or forms of service were used in severall Churches in England, as the Office of York, Hereford, Bangor, &c. which caused a deal of Confusion in Gods Worship, untill Osmond Bishop of Sarum, about the year of our Lord 1090, made that Ordinall or Office which was generally received all over England, so that Churches thence forward easily understood one another, all speaking the same words in their Liturgy. It is now applyed to those persons which do, and Actions which are formally and solemnly done, in so Regular a way by Authentick Precedents, and Paterns of unquestionable Authority, that no just exception can be taken thereat.”Worthies(Wilt-Shire), p. 146. ed. 1662.

v. 104.Marche harum] i. e. March hare.

v. 106.let] i. e. leave, desist.

v. 107.fet] i. e. fetch.

v. 110.to halow there the fox]—halow, i. e. halloo. “Men blewe the hornes and cryed andhalowed the foxe.”Reynard the Fox, sig. h 5. ed. 1481.

v. 112.Boke] i. e. Book.

Page 159. v. 114.lectryne] “Lecterneto syng at.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xliiii. (Table of Subst.).

Back to Index Next