Chapter 17

“To flatterynge, to smatterynge,to toout of harre.”

CompareM. Harry Whobals mon to M. Camel, &c. (folio broadside among the “flytings” of Churchyard and Camell);

“My master Harry Whoball, sur, isto toshamefull wrothe....... for drinke isto tonappye.”

“My master Harry Whoball, sur, isto toshamefull wrothe.

...

... for drinke isto tonappye.”

Ray gives “Too toowill in two.Chesh.”Proverbs, p. 163. ed. 1768.

v. 884.crake] i. e. vaunt.

Page 254. v. 885.I befoule his pate] i. e. I befool, &c. (notbefoul), as it would seem from v. 1057, “Ibefolethy face;” and v. 1829, “Ibefolethy brayne pan.”

v. 886.fonne iet] i. e. foolish fashion (see note on v. 458. p. 242).

v. 887.From out of Fraunce] So Barclay;

“Reduce courtiers clerely vnto your remembraunce,From whencethis disguisingwas brought wherin ye go,As I rememberit was brought out of France.”The Ship of Fooles, fol. 9. ed. 1570.

“Reduce courtiers clerely vnto your remembraunce,From whencethis disguisingwas brought wherin ye go,As I rememberit was brought out of France.”

“Reduce courtiers clerely vnto your remembraunce,

From whencethis disguisingwas brought wherin ye go,

As I rememberit was brought out of France.”

The Ship of Fooles, fol. 9. ed. 1570.

Borde, in hisBoke of knowledge, introduces a Frenchman saying,

“I am ful of new inuencionsAnd dayly I do make new toyes and fashionsAl necions of me example do takeWhan any garment they go about to make.”Sig. T. reprint.

“I am ful of new inuencionsAnd dayly I do make new toyes and fashionsAl necions of me example do takeWhan any garment they go about to make.”

“I am ful of new inuencions

And dayly I do make new toyes and fashions

Al necions of me example do take

Whan any garment they go about to make.”

Sig. T. reprint.

v. 889.purueaunce] i. e. provision.

v. 907.carlys] i. e. churl’s.

v. 909.wonne] i. e. dwell.

Page 255. v. 915.slyue] i. e. sleeve.

v. 918.preue] i. e. prove.

v. 919.A Tyborne checke] i. e. a rope.

——craynge, Stow, stow]—craynge, i. e. crying. See note, p. 206. v. 73.

v. 921.out of harre] i. e. out of hinge, out of order: see Jamieson’sEt. Dict. of Scot. Lang.andSuppl.in v.Har.The expression occurs again in v. 2121; and is found in theTowneley Myst.and G. Douglas’s Virgil’sÆn.

v. 923.warre] i. e. worse.

v. 932.farly] i. e. strange.

v. 933.lokys] i. e. looks.

v. 934.an hawke of the towre] So again our author in theGarlande of Laurell;

“Ientill as fawcounOrhawke of the towre.”v. 1006. vol. i. 402.

“Ientill as fawcounOrhawke of the towre.”

“Ientill as fawcoun

Orhawke of the towre.”

v. 1006. vol. i. 402.

i. e., says Warton, “in the king’s mews in the Tower,”Hist. of E.P.ii. 355. ed. 4to: and the following lines occur in a poem calledArmony of Byrdes, n. d. (attributed without authority to Skelton), reprinted entire inTypograph. Antiq.iv. 380. ed. Dibdin;

“The Haukes dyd syngTheir belles dyd ryngThei saidthey came frō the tower.We hold with the kyngAnd wyll for him syngTo God, day, nyght, and hower.”p. 383.

“The Haukes dyd syngTheir belles dyd ryngThei saidthey came frō the tower.We hold with the kyngAnd wyll for him syngTo God, day, nyght, and hower.”

“The Haukes dyd syng

Their belles dyd ryng

Thei saidthey came frō the tower.

We hold with the kyng

And wyll for him syng

To God, day, nyght, and hower.”

p. 383.

But I apprehend that by ahawke of the towreSkelton means—a hawk that towers aloft, takes a station high in the air, and thence swoops upon her prey. Juliana Berners mentions certain hawks which “benhawkes of the toure.”Book of St. Albans, sig. c. v.: and Turbervile says; “Shee [the hobby] is of the number of those Hawkes that are hie flying andtowre Hawks.”Booke of Falconrie, p. 53. ed. 1611.

Page 255. v. 935.the malarde] i. e. the wild-drake.

v. 936.becked] i. e. beaked.

v. 938.Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

Page 256. v. 940.Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 947.spere] i. e. spire, shoot,—stripling. So in our author’s third poemAgainst Garnesche, “But a slendyrspere.” v. 41. vol. i. 121.

v. 953.mo] i. e. more.

v. 954.in the dyuyls date] See note, p. 116. v. 375.

v. 956.he playeth the state] i. e. he playeth the person of consequence.

v. 957.pyke out of the gate] “IPyckeme forth out of a place or Ipyckeme hence,Ie me tyre auant.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccxvi. (Table of Verbes).

v. 962.out of consayte] i. e. out of good opinion, favour.

v. 964.a praty slyght] i. e. a pretty trick, contrivance.

v. 971.Cockes harte] i. e. God’s heart: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 973.poynted after my consayte] i. e. appointed, equipped according to my fancy.

v. 974.thou iettes it of hyght] i. e. thou struttest it in high style: see note, p. 94. v. 43.

Page 257. v. 975.let vs be wyse] Equivalent to—let us understand.

v. 977.come of, it were done] The expression “come of” has occurred before; see note on v. 103. p. 238. CompareMary Magdalene;

“Cumof ȝe harlottsthat yt wer don.”An. Mysteries from the Digby MSS.p. 97. ed. Abbotsf.

“Cumof ȝe harlottsthat yt wer don.”

An. Mysteries from the Digby MSS.p. 97. ed. Abbotsf.

Magnus Herodes;

“Hens now go youre way that yewerethore.”Towneley Mysteries, p. 147.

“Hens now go youre way that yewerethore.”

Towneley Mysteries, p. 147.

Still’sGammer Gurtons Nedle;

“Sir knaue make hast dicconwerehere.”Sig. E 3. ed. 1575.

“Sir knaue make hast dicconwerehere.”

Sig. E 3. ed. 1575.

See too our author’sGarlande of Laurell, v. 243. vol. i. 371.

Page 257. v. 979.sone] i. e. soon.

v. 980.Stowe] See note, p. 206. v. 73.

v. 982.There is many euyll faueryd, and thou be foule] i. e. There is many a one ill-looking, if thou be ugly: see note, p. 130. v. 442.

v. 985.I wys] i. e. truly, certainly (i-wis, adv.).

v. 987.Jesse] i. e. Jesus.

v. 992.bent] i. e. arched; see note, p. 146. v. 1014.

v. 993.glent] i. e. glancing, bright.

v. 1000.Barbyd lyke a nonne]—nonne, i. e. nun. “The feders vnder the becke [of a hawk] ben callyd theBarbe feders.”Book of Saint Albans, sig. a 5.Barbeis explained by Tyrwhitt to mean a hood or muffler, which covered the lower part of the face and the shoulders;Gloss.to Chaucer’sCant. Tales: and he refers to Du Cange in v.Barbuta. According to Strutt, it was a piece of white plaited linen, and belonged properly to mourning: in an edict concerning “The order and manner of apparell for greate estates of weomen in tyme of mourninge,” made by the mother of Henry vii. in the 8th year of his reign, we find “Everye one not beinge vnder the degree of a Baronesse to weare abarbeaboue [Strutt prints by mistake—”about“] the chinne. And all other: as knightes wyfes, to weare yt vnder theire throtes, and other gentleweomen beneath the throte goyll.”MS. Harl.1354. fol. 12. SeeDress and Habits, pp. 323, 325, 326, 368, and plate cxxxv.

v. 1002.donne] i. e. dun.

v. 1003.Well faueryd bonne] So in our author’sElynour Rummyng, v. 227, “my pretybonny;” see note, p. 166.

v. 1005.rowte] i. e. crowd, assembly.

Page 258. v. 1008.prese] i. e. press, throng.

v. 1009.a hole mese] i. e. a whole mess, set.

v. 1011.I rede, we sease] i. e. I advise that we cease.

v. 1012.farly ... lokys] i. e. strangely ... looks.

v. 1013.becke ... crokys] i. e. beak ... crooks.

v. 1014.tenter hokys] i. e. tenter-hooks.

v. 1015.wokys] i. e. weeks.

v. 1018.The deuyll spede whyt] So again in our author’sWhy come ye nat to Courte;

“For as for wytte,The deuyll spede whitte!”v. 1013. vol. ii. 58.

“For as for wytte,The deuyll spede whitte!”

“For as for wytte,

The deuyll spede whitte!”

v. 1013. vol. ii. 58.

Page 258. v. 1020.to] i. e. too (as in the next two lines).

v. 1023.solempne] i. e. solemn.

v. 1027.a pere] i. e. a pear,—used frequently by our early writers for a thing of no value. “Vayne glory of the world, the whiche is not wortha pere.”Morte d’Arthur, B. xv. cap. vi. vol. ii. 254. ed. Southey.

v. 1028.lese] i. e. lose.

v. 1030.And I may tende] i. e. If I may attend.

v. 1032.halfe] i. e. side.

v. 1035.Fansy seruyce] i. e. Fancy-service.

——hyght] i. e. am called.

v. 1038.theke] i. e. thatch.

v. 1040.Make a wyndmyll of a mat] Compare v. 2 of our author’s third set of versesAgainst venemous Tongues, vol. i. 132.

v. 1041.and I wyst] i. e. if I knew.

Page 259. v. 1049.blunder] See note on v. 405. p. 241.

——blother] i. e. gabble; as in our author’sColyn Cloute, v. 66. vol. i. 313.

v. 1054.this] i. e. thus: see note, p. 86. v. 38.

v. 1055.euerychone] i. e. every one.

v. 1057.fonnysshe] i. e. foolish.

——I befole thy face] See note on v. 885. p. 250.

v. 1058.a foles case] i. e. a fool’s habit.

v. 1059.glede] i. e. kite. Nares,Gloss.in v., observes that in the common version of the Bible,Deut.xiv. 13, thegledeandkiteare erroneously mentioned together as two distinct birds.

v. 1061.thy lyppes hange in thyne eye] So inThenterlude of Youth, n. d.;

“Faine of him I wolde haue a sightBut mylyppes hange in my lyght.”Sig. A iiii.

“Faine of him I wolde haue a sightBut mylyppes hange in my lyght.”

“Faine of him I wolde haue a sight

But mylyppes hange in my lyght.”

Sig. A iiii.

See too Heywood’sDialogue, &c. sig. F 4,—Workes, ed. 1598.

v. 1066.pylde] i. e. bald—mangy: see note, p. 184. v. 68.

v. 1068.Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1069.Mackemurre] A proper name, though not printed as such in the old copy:

“The great Onele, andMakmurrealso,And al the lordes and kynges of Ireland.”Hardyng’sChronicle, fol. cxlix. ed. 1543.

“The great Onele, andMakmurrealso,And al the lordes and kynges of Ireland.”

“The great Onele, andMakmurrealso,

And al the lordes and kynges of Ireland.”

Hardyng’sChronicle, fol. cxlix. ed. 1543.

v. 1070.budge furre] “Budgeor Lambes furre.” Minsheu’sGuide into Tongues. In an order respecting the scholastic habit in the University of Cambridge, dated 1414, (quoted by Todd from Farmer’s papers, in a note on Milton’sComus, v. 707,) mention is made of “furruris buggeisaut agninis.”

Page 260. v. 1073.thou wylte coughe me a dawe]—dawe, i. e. simpleton; see note, p. 113. v. 301. So in the fourth line after this, “ye shallcoughe me a fole:” and in Lilly’sMother Bombie, 1594; “I know hee will cough for anger that I yeeld not, but he shallcough mee a foolefor his labour.” Sig. B 2.

v. 1074.Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 1079.can] i. e. know.

v. 1081.broder] i. e. brother.

v. 1082.so hye fro me doth sprynge] i. e. doth (dost) grow so much taller than I.

v. 1088.gere] i. e. apparel.

v. 1089.folysshe] i e. foolish.

v. 1093.flete] i. e. float, flow, abound.

v. 1095.by] i. e. buy.

v. 1096.Cockys harte] i. e. God’s heart: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 1103.syke] i. e. such.

v. 1104.a fole the tone] i. e. a fool the one.

Page 261. v. 1107.warke] i. e. work, business.

v. 1108.donnyshe] i. e. dunnish.

v. 1109.a fonde gest] i. e. a foolish guest.

v. 1111.so folysshe and so fonde] i. e. so foolish and so silly (one of Skelton’s pleonasms).

v. 1118.beshrowe] i. e. curse.

v. 1119.do] i. e. done.

v. 1120.Here is nothynge but the bockyll of a sho] CompareThe Bowge of Courte, v. 397. vol. i. 45.

v. 1121.marke] i. e. marks,—the coins so named.

v. 1123.hyght] i. e. is called.

v. 1124.fole] i. e. fool.

v. 1126.a botchment] “Botchement. Additamentum.”Prompt. Parv.ed. 1499.

v. 1127.forfende] i. e. prohibit, forbid.

v. 1128.For Goddes cope] So we find as an oath, “By gods blewhood.”Tom Tyler and his Wife, p. 5. ed. 1661.

v. 1131.be tyme] i. e. by time.

v. 1134.praty] i. e. pretty.

v. 1136.Aungey] Does it mean Angers, or Anjou?

Page 262. v. 1142.gate] i. e. got.

v. 1143.puddynges] See note, p. 173. v. 443.

——wortes] Is here, I suppose, equivalent to—cabbages.

v. 1147.marmosete] A kind of ape, or monkey.

v. 1148.iapes] i. e. jests, jokes.

Page 262. v. 1150.pultre] i. e. poultry, fowl.

——catell] i. e. beast.

v. 1154.rode] i. e. rood, cross: see note, p. 206. v. 69.

v. 1157.nyfyls] A word sufficiently explained by the context, and of frequent occurrence. So inA Mery Play between Johan the Husbande, Tyb his Wyfe, and Syr Jhan the Preest, 1533, attributed to Heywood;

“By God, I wolde ye had harde the tryfyls,The toys, the mokkes, the fables, and thenyfyls,That I made thy husbande to beleve and thynke.”p. 21. reprint.

“By God, I wolde ye had harde the tryfyls,The toys, the mokkes, the fables, and thenyfyls,That I made thy husbande to beleve and thynke.”

“By God, I wolde ye had harde the tryfyls,

The toys, the mokkes, the fables, and thenyfyls,

That I made thy husbande to beleve and thynke.”

p. 21. reprint.

v. 1158.canest] i. e. knowest.

v. 1159.mased] i. e. bewildered, confounded.

v. 1165.It forseth not] i. e. It matters not.

v. 1168.Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

——sone] i. e. soon.

Page 263. v. 1172.Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1175.a farle freke] i. e. a strange fellow: see notes, p. 109. v. 187; p. 178. v. 15.

v. 1176.play well at the hoddypeke]—hoddypekeis a common term of contempt or reproach (as in our author’sWhy come ye nat to Courte, v. 326. vol. ii. 37), and is generally equivalent to—fool. The original meaning of the word is altogether uncertain. Steevens (note onGammer Gurtons Nedle) explains it—hodmandod (shell-snail); and Nares (Gloss.in v.) is inclined to agree with him. In a passage of Dunbar’sDance of the Sevin Deidly Synnis(Poems, i. 51. ed. Laing), “hud-pykis” has been explained (on account of the context)—misers. In Cotgrave’sDict.is “Noddy peke.”

v. 1182.ne reckys] i. e. recks not.

v. 1185.mo folys] i. e. more fools.

v. 1189.kesteryll] A sort of base-bred hawk.

v. 1190.I wys] i. e. truly, certainly (i-wis, adv.).

——doteryll] See note, p. 129. v. 409.

v. 1191.In a cote thou can play well the dyser] “Dysoure. Bomolochus. Nugaculus.”Prompt. Parv.ed. 1499. “Dissara scoffarsaigefol.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xxix. (Table of Subst.). “He can play thedesardewith a contrefet face properly.Morionemscite representat.” HormanniVulgaria, sig. bb iiii. ed. 1530. “One that were skylled in the crafte ofdysoursor skoffyng fellowes.” Palsgrave’sAcolastus, 1540. sig. H ii.

v. 1195.gatte] i. e. got.

v. 1200.fon] i. e. fool.

Page 264. v. 1205.do mastryes] See note on v. 151. p. 238.

v. 1206.cocke wat] See note, p. 108. v. 173.

v. 1211.rode] i. e. rood, cross: see note, p. 206. v. 69.

——semblaunt] i. e. semblance.

v. 1215.lyste] i. e. liest.

v. 1216.moght ... lyste] i. e. moth ... list.

v. 1220.Johnn a Bonam] One of the persons who figure in the old metrical tale,The Hunttyng of the Hare, is called “Jac of Bonam:” see Weber’sMet. Rom.iii. 279.

v. 1223.Shyt] i. e. Shut.

——dawe] i. e. simpleton; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

Page 265. v. 1230.cayser] See note on v. 796. p. 247.

v. 1232.scoles] i. e. schools,—teaching.

v. 1234.Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1241.renneth] i. e. runneth.

v. 1242.thefte and bryboury]—bryboury, i. e. pilfering. “Bryberyor bribe. Manticulum.”—“Briboure. Manticulus.”—“Bryben.Latricino. Manticulo.”Prompt. Parv.ed. 1499. “IBribeI pull I pyll,Ie bribe.Romant,ie derobbe, ... andie emble... Hebribethand he polleth and he gothe to worke:Il bribe,” &c. Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. clxxiiii. (Table of Verbes). “Bribors, Cometh of the FrenchBribeur, i. e. Mendicus: It seemeth in a legal Signification one that pilfereth other Mens Goods, as Cloaths out of a Window, or the like.Anno 28 Ed. 2. Stat. 1. cap. unico.” Cowel’sLaw Dictionary, or The Interpreter, &c.augmented and improved, &c. ed. 1727. So again our author;

“Thefte also and petybrybery.”v. 1370 of the present drama.

“Thefte also and petybrybery.”

v. 1370 of the present drama.

“Some haue a name for thefte andbrybery.”Garlande of Laurell, v. 183. vol. i. 369.

“Some haue a name for thefte andbrybery.”

Garlande of Laurell, v. 183. vol. i. 369.

So too inThe Hye Way to the Spyttell Hous, by Copland, n. d.;

“Brybe, and conuey, fro mayster and maystres.”Utterson’sEarly Pop. Poet.ii. 37.

“Brybe, and conuey, fro mayster and maystres.”

Utterson’sEarly Pop. Poet.ii. 37.

and inGentylnes and Nobylyte, n. d. (attributed without reason to Heywood);

“Forbrybeand stele euery thyng they wyllIf they may secretly come theruntyll.”Sig. B iii.

“Forbrybeand stele euery thyng they wyllIf they may secretly come theruntyll.”

“Forbrybeand stele euery thyng they wyll

If they may secretly come theruntyll.”

Sig. B iii.

Other passages might be cited from various poets. And see Tyrwhitt’sGloss.to Chaucer’sCant. Tales, and Richardson’sDict.

v. 1244.a nysot] InPrompt. Parv.ed. 1499 is “Anysotor a folt. Stolidus. Baburrus. Insons.” But in the present passagenysotseems, from the context, to be equivalent to—lazy jade: and in thework just cited we find “Nyce. Iners.”—“Nycehedeornycete. Inercia.”

Page 265. v. 1246.warke] i. e. work.

v. 1247.lyther] i. e. wicked, evil.

v. 1249.Bytwene the tappet and the wall]—tappet, i. e. tapestry. This line has occurred before, in our author’s fourth poemAgainst Garnesche, v. 75. vol. i. 128.

v. 1252.ony] i. e. any.

v. 1254.sorte] i. e. set, company,—people.

v. 1257.ferre] i. e. far.

Page 266. v. 1258.dawys] i. e. simpletons: see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 1261.

He frownyth fyersly, brymly browde,The knaue wolde make it koy, and he cowde]

He frownyth fyersly, brymly browde,

The knaue wolde make it koy, and he cowde]

—fyerslyandbrymlyare nearly synonymous:make it koymeans here—affect (not merely reserve, but) haughtiness;—and so in our author’sBowge of Courte,—

“He bote the lyppe, he loked passyngecoye.”v. 288. vol. i. 41.

“He bote the lyppe, he loked passyngecoye.”

v. 288. vol. i. 41.

v. 1265.besy] i. e. busy.

v. 1270.quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 1275.lese moche] i. e. lose much.

v. 1278.mo] i. e. more.

v. 1280.scolys] i. e. schools.

v. 1281.folys] i. e. fools.

v. 1282.lyther] i. e. wicked,—rascals (as in the next line but one—“theselythers”).

v. 1283.Symkyn Tytyuell] See note onColyn Cloute, v. 418.

v. 1284.lere] i. e. learn.

v. 1289.mykyll] i. e. much.

Page 267. v. 1291.dell] i. e. part.

v. 1293.shroudly] i. e. shrewdly.

v. 1297.fonde] i. e. foolish.

v. 1299.auowe] i. e. vow: see note, p. 109. v. 199.

v. 1301.kynde] i. e. nature.

v. 1303.rutters] See note on v. 757. p. 245.

v. 1308.Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

——boke] i. e. book.

v. 1309.Ye] i. e. Yea.

——loke] i. e. look.

v. 1312.howe] i. e. ho! stop!

“Ye shall haue ay quhill you cryho.”Philotvs, sig. B. ed. 1612.

“Ye shall haue ay quhill you cryho.”

Philotvs, sig. B. ed. 1612.

“Greit God defend I suld be one of thoQuhilk of thair feid and malice neuerho.”G. Douglas’sPalice of Honour, p. 30. Bann. ed.

“Greit God defend I suld be one of thoQuhilk of thair feid and malice neuerho.”

“Greit God defend I suld be one of tho

Quhilk of thair feid and malice neuerho.”

G. Douglas’sPalice of Honour, p. 30. Bann. ed.

Page 267. v. 1314.scrat] i. e. scratch.

v. 1315.So how] i. e. So ho.

v. 1317.gadde] Does it mean—gadding?

v. 1318.brayne seke] i. e. brain-sick.

v. 1319.to shyre shakynge nought] i. e. to sheer nothing. So in our author’sElynour Rummyng, (v. 466. vol. i. 110), that lady pronounces a couple of stunted goslings to be “shyre shakyng nought,” i. e. sheer worthless.

v. 1323.perde] i. e.par dieu, verily.

——ryde or go] See note, p. 125. v. 186.

Page 268. v. 1324.slyght] i. e. contrivance.

v. 1325.hyght] i. e. be called.

v. 1327.wonne] i. e. dwell.

v. 1334.Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1338.Cockes armes] i. e. God’s arms: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 1339.whylest] i. e. till.

v. 1341.slee] i. e. slay.

v. 1342.away the mare] See note, p. 162. v. 110.

v. 1345.a rome ... in euery route] i. e. a place in every crowd, assembly.

v. 1347.face and brace] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

v. 1348.fotyth] i. e. footeth.

Page 269. v. 1353.poyntmentys] i. e. appointments.

v. 1356.mykyll praty] i. e. much pretty.

v. 1358.an hoby can make larkys to dare]—to dare, i. e. to be terrified, to tremble,—(it also means—to lurk, lie hid; see note on the poemHowe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. v. 271). Todare larkswas an expression applied to the catching of larks by terrifying them; and there were several modes ofdaringthem. When thehobby(a small hawk, see note, p. 135. v. 567) was employed for that purpose, the larks lay still in terror till a net was thrown over them.

v. 1360.almesse] i. e. alms.

v. 1363.howe] i. e. ho.

v. 1365.loke] i. e. look.

v. 1368.hardely] i. e. assuredly.

v. 1370.pety brybery] See note on v. 1242. p. 256.

v. 1373.be] i. e. by.

Page 269. v. 1376.trew] i. e. honest.

v. 1378.checke] i. e. taunt: see note on v. 300. p. 240.

v. 1379.weltyth] Toweltmeans—to border: but qy. isweltythhere used forweldyth, i. e. wieldeth, directeth?

v. 1382.sadnesse] i. e. gravity, seriousness, soberness, discreetness.

Page 270. v. 1389.sorte] i. e. set, company.

v. 1390.hokes vnhappy]—hokes, i. e. hooks, a word frequently applied to persons as a term of reproach. “Vnhappyof manersmaluays.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xcviii. (Table of Adiect.). So inJacke Jugelar, n. d.;

“Loo yender cumithe thatvnhappye hooke.”p. 26. Roxb. ed.

“Loo yender cumithe thatvnhappye hooke.”

p. 26. Roxb. ed.

and in Heywood’sDialogue, &c.;

“Since thou art crosse sailde, aualevnhappie hooke.”Sig. E,—Workes, ed. 1598.

“Since thou art crosse sailde, aualevnhappie hooke.”

Sig. E,—Workes, ed. 1598.

v. 1395.dawe] i. e. simpleton; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 1396.occupyed] i. e. used, employed; see note, p. 86. v. 52.

v. 1397.reason and skyll] See note on v. 106. p. 238.

v. 1401.Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 1405.largesse] i. e. liberality.

v. 1411.Had I wyst] See note, p. 86. v. 40.

Page 271. v. 1416.Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1421.Ye haue eten sauce] Compare our author’sBowge of Courte, v. 72. vol. i. 33.

v. 1422.to] i. e. too.

v. 1425.worshyp] i. e. honour, dignity.

v. 1436.repryuable] i. e. reprovable.

Page 272. v. 1441.menys of to moche] i. e. means of too much.

v. 1442.What, can ye agree thus and appose?]—and appose, i. e. and yet keep questioning, disputing: see note onColyn Cloute, v. 267.

v. 1443.faute] i. e. fault.

v. 1444.Ye] i. e. Yea.

——Jacke a thrommys bybyll] See note, p. 189. v. 204.

——glose] i. e. gloss.

v. 1446.loke you vnder kay] i. e. lock you under key.

v. 1456.Take it in worthe] See note, p. 95. v. 68.

v. 1458.largesse] i. e. liberality.

——kynde] i. e. nature.

v. 1467.stonde] i. e. stand.

Page 273. v. 1473.fonde] i. e. foolish.

Page 273. v. 1474.loke that ye occupye] i. e. look that ye use; see note, p. 86. v. 52.

v. 1475.For nowe, syrs, I am lyke as a prynce sholde be, &c.] This speech of Magnyfycence is very much in the style of Herod in the old miracle-plays: see, for instance, theCoventry Mysteries,MS. Cott. Vesp. D.viii. fol. 92. sqq.

v. 1477.abandune] i. e. subject.

“Forabandonitwill he noght be to berne that is borne.”Golagros and Gawane, p. 142,—Syr Gawayne, &c.

“Forabandonitwill he noght be to berne that is borne.”

Golagros and Gawane, p. 142,—Syr Gawayne, &c.

“Till all to yowabandownytbe.”Barbour’sBruce, B. iii. v. 883. ed. Jam.

“Till all to yowabandownytbe.”

Barbour’sBruce, B. iii. v. 883. ed. Jam.

v. 1481.mene] See note on v. 138. p. 238.

v. 1491.syar] i. e. sire, lord.

v. 1493.ryall trone] i. e. royal throne.

v. 1496.spyll] i. e. destroy.

Page 274. v. 1502.loke] i. e. look.

v. 1504.dynt] i. e. blow.

v. 1505.the cane] Does it mean—the khan?

v. 1507.I set not by] i. e. I value not, regard not.

——prane] i. e. prawn.

v. 1508.Ne] i. e. Nor.

——rehersse] i. e. mention.

v. 1513.cache] i. e. couch.

v. 1515.mell] i. e. meddle.

v. 1518.to lowte man be sene] i. e. (if the text be right; see foot-notead l.) must be seen to bow, pay obeisance.

v. 1520.brymme] i. e. fierce, rugged, bristly.

v. 1521.Basyan the bolde, for all his brybaunce]Basyanis, I suppose, Antoninus Bassianus Caracalla (he is called “Basian” in Robert of Gloucester’sChron. p. 76. sqq.):brybauncewould seem to mean—plundering (properly, pilfering); see note on v. 1242. p. 256.

v. 1522.Alerycus] i. e. Alaric.

——the Gothyaunce] i. e. the Goths.

——swerd] i. e. sword.

v. 1524.maysyd] i. e. bewildered, confounded—stupid.

v. 1525.fole] i. e. fool.

v. 1526.Galba, whom his galantys garde for agaspe] i. e. (I suppose) Galba, whom his gallants (soldiers) made to gasp:—they assassinated him:—seegarin v. 1532.

v. 1527.nother set by] i. e. neither valued, regarded.

v. 1528.Vaspasyan, that bare in his nose a waspe] This passageis explained by the following lines of a poem never printed, entitledThe Sege of Jerusalem:

“His fader Vaspasiane ferly bytyddeA byke of waspes bredde in his noseHyved vp in his hedde he hadde hem of thoghtAnd Vaspasiane is called by cause of his waspes.”MS. Cott. Calig. A.ii. fol. 109.

“His fader Vaspasiane ferly bytyddeA byke of waspes bredde in his noseHyved vp in his hedde he hadde hem of thoghtAnd Vaspasiane is called by cause of his waspes.”

“His fader Vaspasiane ferly bytydde

A byke of waspes bredde in his nose

Hyved vp in his hedde he hadde hem of thoght

And Vaspasiane is called by cause of his waspes.”

MS. Cott. Calig. A.ii. fol. 109.

Page 274. v. 1529.agayne] i. e. against.

Page 275. v. 1531.crake] i. e. vaunt, talk bigly.

v. 1532.I shall frounce them on the foretop] Tofrounceis—to wrinkle, ruffle up, &c. In our author’sPhyllyp Sparowe, v. 1340. vol. i. 92, Charon is described as having a “frownsidfore top;” and in hisColyn Cloute, v. 533. vol. i. 331, “foretop” means simply—head, pate.

——gar] i. e. make, cause.

v. 1538.auaunce] i. e. advance.

v. 1539.take it in degre] Seems equivalent here to—“take it in gre” (which occurs in v. 2005), i. e. take it kindly: see note, p. 95. v. 68.

v. 1544.ferre] i. e. far.

v. 1547.supprysed] i. e. overpowered, smitten.

v. 1549.Pullyshyd] i. e. Polished.

——ornacy] i. e. ornate diction.

v. 1551.electe vtteraunce] i. e. choice expression.

v. 1554.feffyd and seasyd] i. e. enfeoffed and seised,—law-terms.

v. 1556.Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 1557.comon] i. e. communing, discourse.

v. 1558.Poynt deuyse] See note on v. 852. p. 248.

Page 276. v. 1561.pore] i. e. poor.

v. 1564.semynge] i. e. beseeming, fitting.

v. 1568.maystresse] i. e. mistress.

v. 1569.That quyckly is enuyued with rudyes of the rose] i. e. That is lively envived with hues, or complexion, of the rose. This somewhat pleonastic expression is found again in our author’sGarlande of Laurell;

“Enuyuidpicturis well touchid andquikly.”v. 1161. vol. i. 408.

“Enuyuidpicturis well touchid andquikly.”

v. 1161. vol. i. 408.

v. 1570.Inpurtured] i. e. Portrayed, pictured,—adorned.

v. 1571.The streynes of her vaynes] i. e. The strains, runnings of her veins.

“Rills rising out of euery banck,In wilde meandersstrayne.”Drayton’sMuses Elizium, p. 2. ed. 1630.

“Rills rising out of euery banck,In wilde meandersstrayne.”

“Rills rising out of euery banck,

In wilde meandersstrayne.”

Drayton’sMuses Elizium, p. 2. ed. 1630.

Page 276. v. 1571.as asure inde blewe] See note, p. 101. v. 17.

v. 1573.loke] i. e. look.

——leyre] i. e. complexion, skin.

v. 1576.lusty] i. e. pleasant, desirable.

v. 1578.to brace and to basse] i. e. to embrace and to kiss.

v. 1579.by hym that hell dyd harowe] i. e. by our Saviour: see note, p. 150. v. 1291.

v. 1580.a Phylyp sparowe] See note, p. 121. v. 7.

v. 1581.whylest my hede dyd warke] i. e. until my head did work, ache. “Hedwerkesekenesse. Cephalia.”Prompt. Parv.ed. 1499. “Wark, to ache.” Hunter’sHallam. Gloss. “But I may not stonde,myn hede werches soo.”Morte d’Arthur, B. xxi. c. v. vol. ii. 440. ed. Southey.

v. 1582.hobby for suche a lusty larke] See note on v. 1358. p. 258. The same metaphorical use of this expression occurs in our author’sColyn Cloute, v. 194. vol. i. 318.

v. 1584.my flesshe wolde be wroken]—wroken, i. e. wreaked, satiated.

“Whyles thou art yonge ...Wrekethe with wiueryng, if thou wilt be excused.”Pierce Plowman, sig. M iii. ed. 1561.

“Whyles thou art yonge ...Wrekethe with wiueryng, if thou wilt be excused.”

“Whyles thou art yonge ...

Wrekethe with wiueryng, if thou wilt be excused.”

Pierce Plowman, sig. M iii. ed. 1561.

v. 1585.consayte] i. e. conceit, fancy.

v. 1586.weryed I wolde be on] i. e. I would worry, eagerly devour: compare our author’sPhyllyp Sparowe, v. 29. vol. i. 52.

v. 1587.Cockes armes] i. e. God’s arms: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 1588.ony] i. e. any.

v. 1589.Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1590.to be sped] i. e. to be made successful.

Page 277. v. 1592.make suche one to the call] A metaphor from falconry.

v. 1600.a sawte] i. e. an assault.

v. 1601.prece] i. e. press.

v. 1603.sone] i. e. soon.

v. 1604.intreted] i. e. prevailed on by solicitation.

v. 1606.broken] Seems to mean here—tame, assuage.

v. 1610.consayte] i. e. conceit, conception.

v. 1615.it shall not gretely skyll] i. e. it shall not make much difference, it shall not much signify.

Page 278. v. 1620.face it] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

v. 1621.Frete] i. e. Gnaw, fret.

v. 1626.lust and lykynge] See note, p. 98, v. 23.

Page 278. v. 1633.your gorge] i. e. what you have swallowed, the contents of your stomach: see note, p. 207. v. 87.

v. 1636.wambleth] “IWambleas ones stomake dotheIe allecte.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccc. (Table of Verbes). “Nauseo ... towamble.”Ortus Vocab.fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d.

v. 1638.wonder] i. e. wondrous.

v. 1640.harte seke] i. e. heart-sick.

——me lyst] i. e. it pleases me.

v. 1641.coryed] i. e. curried, drubbed.

——blyst] i. e. wounded,—thumped.

Back to Index Next