Chapter 22

“Cithara crinitus IopasPersonat aurata, docuit quæ maxumus Atlas.Hic canit errantem lunam, solisque labores;Unde hominum genus, et pecudes; unde imber, et ignes;Arcturum, pluviasque Hyadas, geminosque Triones;Quid tantum Oceano properent se tinguere solesHiberni, vel quæ tardis mora noctibus obstet.”Æn.i. 740.

“Cithara crinitus Iopas

Personat aurata, docuit quæ maxumus Atlas.

Hic canit errantem lunam, solisque labores;

Unde hominum genus, et pecudes; unde imber, et ignes;

Arcturum, pluviasque Hyadas, geminosque Triones;

Quid tantum Oceano properent se tinguere soles

Hiberni, vel quæ tardis mora noctibus obstet.”

Æn.i. 740.

——auaunce] i. e. advance.

v. 691.mone] i. e. moon.

v. 694.spere] i. e. sphere.

v. 697.prechid] i. e. discoursed, told.

——chere] i. e. countenance, look.

v. 699.aspy] i. e. espy.

v. 705.counteryng] See note, p. 92.

Page 389. v. 709.pleasure, with lust and delyte] One of our author’s pleonastic expressions.

v. 712.conuenable] i. e. fitting.

Page 390. v. 718.wele were hym] i. e. he were in good condition.

v. 720.maystres] i. e. mistress.

v. 725.losyd ful sone] i. e. loosed full soon.

v. 731.That I ne force what though it be discurid] i. e. That I do not care although it be discovered, shewn.

v. 733.ladyn of liddyrnes with lumpis]—liddyrnes, i. e. sluggishness, slothfulness (the construction is—ladyn with lumpis of liddyrness).

v. 734.dasid] i. e. stupified.

——dumpis] See note on v. 15. p. 301: but here the word implies greater dulness of mind.

v. 735.coniect] i. e. conjecture.

v. 736.Gog] A corruption of the sacred name.

Page 391. v. 737.be] i. e. by.

v. 741.fonde] i. e. foolish.

v. 742.Tressis agasonis species prior, altera Davi] “Hic Dama est nontressis agaso.” Persius,Sat.v. 76.Davusis a slave’s name in Plautus, Terence, &c.

v. 748.tacita sudant præcordia culpa] From Juvenal,Sat.i. 167.

v. 751.Labra movens tacitus] “Labramovestacitus.” Persius,Sat.v. 184.

——rumpantur ut ilia Codro] From Virgil,Ecl.vii. 26.

v. 753.hight] i. e. is called.

v. 754.and ye wist] i. e. if ye knew.

Page 392. v. 758.hole reame] i. e. whole realm.

v. 762.smerke] i. e. smirk.

v. 763.leue warke whylis it is wele] i. e. leave work while it is well.

v. 764.towchis] i. e. touches, qualities.

——to] i. e. too.

v. 768.astate] i. e. estate, state.

v. 769.Cowntes of Surrey] Was Elizabeth Stafford, eldest daughter of Edward Duke of Buckingham, and second wife of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, who afterwards (on the death of his father in 1524) became the third Duke of Norfolk. She had previously been attached and engaged to the Earl of Westmoreland with the consent of both families; but her father, having broken off the intended match, compelled her to accept the hand of lord Thomas Howard in 1513. She was twenty years younger than her husband.After many domestic quarrels, they separated about 1533. Of their five children, one was Henry Howard, the illustrious poet. She died in 1558. SeeMemorials of the Howard Family, &c. by H. Howard, 1834, folio.

The Countess of Surrey appears to have been fond of literature; and, as she calls Skelton her “clerk,” we may suppose that she particularly patronised him. The probability is, that the present poem was really composed at Sheriff-Hutton Castle, which (as already noticed, p. 300) had been granted by the king to the Duke of Norfolk for life, and that the Countess was residing there on a visit to her father-in-law.

TheGarlande of Laurellwas written, I apprehend, about 1520, or perhaps a little later: in v. 1192 Skelton mentions hisMagnyfycence, which was certainly produced after 1515,—see note on title of that piece, p. 236.

Page 392. v. 771.beue] i. e. bevy.

v. 774.warhe] i. e. work.

v. 775.asayde] i. e. tried, proved.

Page 393. v. 776.cronell] i. e. coronal, garland.

v. 786.of there lewdnesse] May mean (as Nott explains it, Surrey’sWorks, i.—Append. p. ix.)—of their ignorance, ignorantly; but I rather think the expression is here equivalent to,—evilly, impudently.

v. 787.tappettis and carpettis] See note on v. 474. p. 311.

v. 790.To weue in the stoule] So Chaucer;

“Andweauen in stolethe radevore.”Leg. of Philomene, fol. 195.—Workes, ed. 1602.

“Andweauen in stolethe radevore.”

Leg. of Philomene, fol. 195.—Workes, ed. 1602.

and Hall; “On their heades bonets of Damaske syluer flattewouen in the stole, and therupon wrought with gold,” &c.Chron.(Hen. viii.) fol. vii. ed. 1548.—Mr. Albert Way observes to me that inPrompt. Parv. MS. Harl.221, is “Lyncent werkynge instrument for sylke women. Liniarium,” while the ed. of 1499 has “Lyncet workingestole;” and he supposes thestole(i. e. stool) to have been a kind of frame, much like what is still used for worsted work, but, instead of being arranged like a cheval glass, that it was made like a stool,—the top being merely a frame or stretcher for the work.

——preste] i. e. ready.

v. 791.With slaiis, with tauellis, with hedellis well drest]—slaiis, i. e. sleys, weavers’ reeds:tauellis, see note, p. 94. v. 34: “Heddles,Hedeles,Hiddles. The small cords through which the warp is passed in a loom, after going through the reed.”Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang.by Jamieson, who cites from G. Douglas’sÆneid;

“With subtell slayis, and hirhedelesslee,Riche lenze wobbis naitly weiffit sche.”B. vii. p. 204. 45. ed. Rudd.

“With subtell slayis, and hirhedelesslee,Riche lenze wobbis naitly weiffit sche.”

“With subtell slayis, and hirhedelesslee,

Riche lenze wobbis naitly weiffit sche.”

B. vii. p. 204. 45. ed. Rudd.

Page 393. v. 793.warke] i. e. work.

v. 794.to enbrowder put them in prese] i. e. put themselves in press (applied themselves earnestly) to embroider.

v. 795.glowtonn] Does it mean—ball, clue? or, as Mr. Albert Way suggests,—a sort of needle, a stiletto as it is now called,—something by which the silk was to be inwrought?

v. 796.pirlyng] “IPyrlewyer of golde or syluer I wynde it vpon a whele as sylke women do.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccxvii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 798.tewly sylk] Richardson in hisDict.under the verbTewplacestewly, as derived from it, and cites the present passage. Buttewlyseems to have nothing to do with that verb. “Tulycolowre. Puniceus vel punicus.”Prompt. Parv. MS. Harl.221. InMS. Sloane, 73. fol. 214, are directions “for to make bokerhamtulyortulythred,” where it appears that this colour was “a manere of reed colour as it were of croppe mader,” that is, probably, of the tops or sprouts of the madder, which would give a red less intense or full: the dye was “safflour” (saffron?) and “asches of wyn [whin] ballis ybrent;” and a little red vinegar was to be used to bring the colour up to a fuller red.—For this information I am indebted to Mr. Albert Way.

v. 799.botowme] “I can make nobottomsof this threde ...glomera.” HormanniVulgaria, sig. t i. ed 1530.

v. 801.warkis] i. e. works.

Page 394. v. 803.With burris rowth and bottons surffillyng]—burris rowth, i. e. burrs rough:bottons, i. e. buds:surffillyng, see note, p. 281. v. 219.

v. 804.nedill wark] i. e. needle-work.

v. 805.enbesid] i. e. embusied.

v. 814.conseyt] i. e. conceit.

v. 815.captacyons of beneuolence] Todd gives “Captation(old Fr.captation, ruse, artifice). The practice of catching favour or applause; courtship; flattery.”Johnson’s Dict.Richardson, after noticing the use of the verbcaptive“with a subaudition of gentle, attractive, persuasive means or qualities,” adds that in the present passage of Skeltoncaptationis used with that subaudition.Dict.in v.

v. 816.pullysshid] i. e. polished.

v. 817.

Sith ye must nedis afforce it by pretenceOf your professyoun vnto vmanyte]

Sith ye must nedis afforce it by pretence

Of your professyoun vnto vmanyte]

i. e. Since you must needs attempt, undertake, it by your claim to the profession of humanity,—humaniores literæ, polite literature.

Page 394. v. 819.proces] i. e. discourse; see notes, p. 143. v. 735. p. 230 (first note on prose), p. 276. v. 2506, &c.

v. 820.iche] i. e. each.

v. 821.sentence ... couenable] i. e. meaning ... fitting.

v. 822.Auaunsynge] i. e. Advancing.

v. 824.arrectyng] i. e. raising.

Page 395. v. 825.ken] i. e. instruct (pleonastically coupled with “informe,” as in v. 1428).

v. 828.dredfull] i. e. full of dread, timorous.

v. 830.bestad] i. e. bested, circumstanced.

v. 833.gabyll rope] i. e. cable-rope. “AGable, Rudens.” Coles’sDict.

v. 835.beseke] i. e. beseech.

——Countes of Surrey] See note on v. 769. p. 317.

v. 838.reconusaunce] i. e. acknowledgment.

v. 841.astate] i. e. estate, state.

v. 842.honour and worshyp] Terms nearly synonymous:worshyp, i. e. dignity.

——formar] i. e. first, highest: see Todd’sJohnson’s Dict.in v.Former.

v. 843.Argyua] i. e. Argia.

v. 844.Polimites] i. e. Polynices;

“his fellaw danPolimites,Of which the brother dan Ethiocles,” &c.Chaucer’sTroilus and Creseide, B. v. fol. 180,—Workes, ed. 1602.

“his fellaw danPolimites,Of which the brother dan Ethiocles,” &c.

“his fellaw danPolimites,

Of which the brother dan Ethiocles,” &c.

Chaucer’sTroilus and Creseide, B. v. fol. 180,—Workes, ed. 1602.

“LetePolymytereioyse his herytage.”Lydgate’sStorye of Thebes, Pars tert.sig. i v. ed. 4to. n. d.

“LetePolymytereioyse his herytage.”

Lydgate’sStorye of Thebes, Pars tert.sig. i v. ed. 4to. n. d.

v. 847.counterwayng] i. e. counter-weighing.

Page 396. v. 850.Pamphila] “Telas araneorum modo texunt ad vestem luxumque fœminarum, quæ bombycina appellatur. Prima eas redordiri, rursusque texere invenit in Ceo mulierPamphila, Latoi filia, non fraudanda gloria excogitatæ rationis ut denudet fœminas vestis.” PliniiNat. Hist.lib. xi. 26.

——quene of the Grekis londe]—londe, i. e. land: qy. does any writer except Skelton call her a queen?

v. 852.

Thamer also wrought with her goodly hondeMany diuisis passynge curyously]

Thamer also wrought with her goodly honde

Many diuisis passynge curyously]

It is plain that Skelton, while writing these complimentary stanzas, consulted BoccaccioDe Claris Mulieribus: there this lady is calledThamyris(see, in that work, “DeThamyriPictrice,” cap. liiii. ed. 1539). Her name is properlyTimarete; she was daughter to Mycon the painter; vide PliniiNat. Hist.: honde, i. e. hand:diuisis, i. e. devices.

Page 396. v. 857.toke] i. e. took.

v. 860.corage ... perfight] i. e. heart, affection ... perfect.

——lady Elisabeth Howarde] Was the third daughter of the second Duke of Norfolk by his second wife, Agnes Tylney, daughter of Sir Hugh Tylney, and sister and heir to Sir Philip Tylney of Boston, Lincolnshire, knight (I follow Howard’sMemorials of the Howard Family, &c.; Collins says “daughter of Hugh Tilney”). Lady Elizabeth married Henry Ratcliff, Earl of Sussex.

v. 865.Aryna] i. e. perhaps—Irene. In the work of Boccaccio just referred to is a portion “DeHyreneC[r]atini filia,” cap. lvii.; and Pliny notices her together with the above-mentioned Timarete.

v. 866.konnyng] i. e. knowledge.

v. 867.wele] i. e. well.

v. 868.enbewtid] i. e. beautified.

v. 870.lusty ... loke] i. e. pleasant ... look.

v. 871.Creisseid] See Chaucer’sTroilus and Creseide.

——Polexene] i. e. Polyxena, the daughter of Priam.

v. 872.enuyue] i. e. envive, enliven, excite.

Page 397. v. 874.hole] i. e. whole.

——lady Mirriell Howarde] Could not have been Muriel, daughter of the second Duke of Norfolk; for she, after having been twice married, died in 1512, anterior to the composition of the present poem. Qy. was the Muriel here celebrated the Duke’s grandchild,—one of those children of the Earl and Countess of Surrey, whose names, as they died early, have not been recorded? Though Skelton compares her to Cidippe, and terms her “madame,” he begins by calling her “militelllady.”

v. 880.curteyse] i. e. courteous.

v. 881.Whome fortune and fate playnly haue discust]—discust, i. e. determined. So again our author inWhy come ye nat to Courte;

“Allmyghty God, I trust,Hath for himdyscust,” &c.v. 747. vol. ii. 50.

“Allmyghty God, I trust,Hath for himdyscust,” &c.

“Allmyghty God, I trust,

Hath for himdyscust,” &c.

v. 747. vol. ii. 50.

and Barclay;

“But if thou iudge amisse, then shall Eacus(As Poetes saith) hell thy iust rewardediscusse.”The Ship of Fooles, fol. 4. ed. 1570.

“But if thou iudge amisse, then shall Eacus(As Poetes saith) hell thy iust rewardediscusse.”

“But if thou iudge amisse, then shall Eacus

(As Poetes saith) hell thy iust rewardediscusse.”

The Ship of Fooles, fol. 4. ed. 1570.

v. 882.plesure, delyght, and lust] One of Skelton’s pleonastic expressions.

Page 397. v. 885.

Cidippes, the mayd,That of Aconcyus whan she founde the byll, &c.]

Cidippes, the mayd,

That of Aconcyus whan she founde the byll, &c.]

—Cidippes, i. e. Cydippe; see note on v. 290. p. 307:the byll; i. e. the writing,—the verses which Acontius had written on the apple.

v. 888.fyll] i. e. fell.

——lady Anne Dakers of the Sowth] The wife of Thomas Lord Dacre, was daughter of Sir Humphrey Bourchier, son of John Lord Berners and of Elizabeth Tylney, who (see note on v. 399) afterwards became the first wife of the second Duke of Norfolk.

v. 893.his crafte were to seke] i. e. his skill were at a loss.

Page 398. v. 897.Princes] i. e. Princess.

v. 898.conyng] i. e. knowledge.

v. 899.Paregall] i. e. Equal (thoroughly equal).

v. 901.surmountynge] i. e. surpassing.

v. 902.sad] See note, p. 264. v. 1711.

v. 903.lusty lokis] i. e. pleasant looks.

——mastres Margery Wentworthe] Perhaps the second daughter of Sir Richard Wentworth, afterwards married to Christopher Glemham of Glemham in Suffolk.

v. 906.margerain ientyll] “Marierome is called ... in English, Sweet Marierome, Fine Marierome, andMarierome gentle; of the best sort Marjerane.” Gerard’sHerball, p. 664. ed. 1633.

v. 907.goodlyhede] i. e. goodness.

v. 908.Enbrowdred] i. e. Embroidered.

v. 912.praty] i. e. pretty.

v. 918.corteise] i. e. courteous.

Page 399.——mastres Margaret Tylney] A sister-in-law, most probably, of the second Duke of Norfolk. His first wife was Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Sir Frederick Tylney of Ashwell-Thorpe, Norfolk, knight, and widow of Sir Humphrey Bourchier, son of John Lord Berners: his second wife was Agnes, daughter of Sir Hugh Tylney, and sister and heir to Sir Philip Tylney of Boston, Lincolnshire, knight; see third note, preceding page.

v. 928.besy cure] i. e. busy care.

v. 933.

As MachareusFayre Canace]

As Machareus

Fayre Canace]

Their tale is told in theConf. Am.by Gower; he expresses no horror at their incestuous passion, but remarks on the cruelty of their father, who

“for he was to loue strange,He wolde not his herte changeTo be benigne and fauourableTo loue, but vnmerciable!”B. iii. fol. xlviii. ed. 1554.

“for he was to loue strange,He wolde not his herte changeTo be benigne and fauourableTo loue, but vnmerciable!”

“for he was to loue strange,

He wolde not his herte change

To be benigne and fauourable

To loue, but vnmerciable!”

B. iii. fol. xlviii. ed. 1554.

(and see the lines cited in note on v. 1048. p. 324). Lydgate (Fall of Prynces, B. i. leaf xxxv. ed. Wayland) relates the story with a somewhat better moral feeling.

Page 399. v. 935.iwus] Ori-wis(adv.),—i. e. truly, certainly.

v. 936.Endeuoure me] i. e. Exert myself.

v. 941.Wele] i. e. Well.

v. 942.Intentyfe] “Intentyfehedefull.”—“Ententyfe, busy to do a thynge or to take hede to a thyng.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fols. lxxxx. lxxxvii. (where both are rendered by the Fr.ententif).

v. 948.Perle orient] In allusion to her Christian name just mentioned, “Margarite.”

v. 949.Lede sterre] i. e. Load-star.

v. 950.Moche] i. e. Much.

Page 400.——maystres Iane Blenner-Haiset] Perhaps a daughter of Sir Thomas Blennerhasset, who was executor (in conjunction with the Duchess) to the second Duke of Norfolk: see Sir H. Nicolas’sTest. Vet.ii. 604.

v. 955.smale lust] i. e. small liking.

v. 958.prese] i. e. press, band.

v. 962.ententifly] See above, note on v. 942.

v. 963.stellyfye] “IStellifyeI sette vp amongest the starres.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccclxxiii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 965.ne swarue] i. e. swerve not.

v. 968.Sith] i. e. Since.

v. 972,Laodomi] i. e. Laodamia.

v. 975.godely] i. e. goodly.

Page 401. v. 977.Reflaring rosabell] i. e. odorous fair-rose: see note, p. 134. v. 524.

v. 978.flagrant] See note on v. 671. p. 315.

v. 979.The ruddy rosary]—rosarymust mean here—rose-bush, not rose-bed.

v. 981.praty] i. e. pretty.

v. 982.nepte] “Cats mint orneptis a kind of calamint,” &c.The Countrie Farme, p. 320. ed. 1600.

v. 983.ieloffer] See note, p. 147. v. 1052.

v. 984.propre] i. e. pretty.

v. 985,Enuwyd] See note, p. 144. v. 775.

Page 402. v. 1006.Ientill as fawcoun] TheFalcon gentle, says Turbervile, is so called “for hergentleand courteous condition and fashions.”The Booke of Falconrie, &c. p. 26. ed. 1611.

v. 1007.hawke of the towre] See note, p. 250. v. 934.

v. 1025.fayre Isaphill] The Hypsipyle of the ancients.

“Isiphile...She that dydin fayrnesse so excell.”Lydgate’sFall of Prynces,B. i. leaf xviii. ed. Wayland.

“Isiphile...She that dydin fayrnesse so excell.”

“Isiphile

...

She that dydin fayrnesse so excell.”

Lydgate’sFall of Prynces,B. i. leaf xviii. ed. Wayland.

She figures in theStorye of Thebesby the same indefatigable versifier, who there says,

“But to knowe. the auentures allOf this lady.Isyphyle the fayre,”(Pars tert. sig. h iiii. n. d. 4to.)

“But to knowe. the auentures allOf this lady.Isyphyle the fayre,”

“But to knowe. the auentures all

Of this lady.Isyphyle the fayre,”

(Pars tert. sig. h iiii. n. d. 4to.)

we must have recourse to BoccaccioDe Claris Mulieribus(see that work, cap. xv. ed. 1539).

v. 1027.pomaunder] Was a composition of perfumes, wrought into the shape of a ball, or other form, and worn in the pocket, or about the neck (Fr.pomme d’ambre). In the following entry from an unpublishedBoke of Kyngs Paymentis from i to ix of Henry viii, preserved in the Chapter-House, Westminster,pomaundermeans a case for holding the composition;

v. 1030.Wele] i. e. Well.

v. 1033.corteise] i. e. courteous.

Page 403. v. 1048.Pasiphe] Lest the reader should be surprised at finding Skelton compare Mistress Statham to Pasiphae, I cite the following lines from Feylde’sContrauersye bytwene a Louer and a Iaye(printed by W. de Worde), n. d., in which she and Taurus are mentioned as examples of true love;

“Phedra and TheseusProgne and ThereusPasyphe and TaurusWho lyketh to proueCanace and MachareusGalathea and PamphylusWas neuer more dolorousAnd all for true loue.”Sig. B iiii.

“Phedra and TheseusProgne and ThereusPasyphe and TaurusWho lyketh to proueCanace and MachareusGalathea and PamphylusWas neuer more dolorousAnd all for true loue.”

“Phedra and Theseus

Progne and Thereus

Pasyphe and Taurus

Who lyketh to proue

Canace and Machareus

Galathea and Pamphylus

Was neuer more dolorous

And all for true loue.”

Sig. B iiii.

I may add too a passage from Caxton’sBoke of Eneydos, &c. (translated from the French), 1490; “The wyffe of kynge Mynos of Cretewas named Pasyfa that was a grete lady and a fayr aboue alle other ladyes of the royame.... The quene Pasyfawas wyth chylde by kynge Mynos, and whan her tyme was comen she was delyuered of a creature that was halfe a man and halfe a bulle.” Sig. h 6.

Page 403. v. 1062.aquyte] i. e. requite.

Page 404. v. 1068.gyse] i. e. guise, fashion.

v. 1074.warke] i. e. work.

v. 1076.

Galathea, the made well besene, &c....By Maro]

Galathea, the made well besene, &c.

...

By Maro]

—the made well besene, i. e. the maid of good appearance, fair to see: the expression applied, as here, to personal appearance, independent of dress, is, I apprehend, very unusual; see notes, p. 112. v. 283. p. 295. v. 957. p. 311. v. 483:By Maro; videEcl. i. and iii.

v. 1082.leyser] i. e. leisure.

Page 405. v. 1094.ich] i. e. each.

v. 1102.curteisly] i. e. courteously.

v. 1103.where as] i. e. where.

v. 1109.Wele was hym] i. e. He was in good condition.

v. 1114.astate] i. e. estate,—meaning here—state, raised chair or throne with a canopy: compare v. 484.

Page 406. v. 1117.loked ... a glum] i. e. looked ... a gloomy, sour look.

v. 1118.There was amonge them no worde then but mum] See note, p. 278. v. 83.

v. 1121.sith] i. e. since.

v. 1124.pretence] i. e. pretension, claim.

v. 1128.princes of astate] i. e. princess of estate, rank, dignity.

v. 1132.condiscendyng] See note, p. 237. v. 39.

Page 407. v. 1135.enduce] i. e. bring in, adduce.

v. 1136.lay] See note, p. 219. v. 103.

v. 1139.bokis] i. e. books.

v. 1143.poynted] i. e. appointed.

v. 1144.presid] i. e. pressed.

v. 1150.ony] i. e. any.

v. 1154.wote wele] i. e. know well.

v. 1156.losende] i. e. loosened, loosed.

v. 1158.byse] Hearne in his Gloss. toLangtoft’s Chron.has “bis, grey, black,” with an eye, no doubt, to the line at p. 230,

“In a marblebisof him is mad story.”

and Sir F. Madden explains the word “white or grey” in his Gloss. toSyr Gawayne, &c., referring to the line “Of golde, azure, andbyse” inSyre Gawene and The Carle of Carelyle, p. 204. But we also find “Bycea colourazur.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xx. (Table of Subst.). “Scryueners wryte with blacke, red, purple, grene,blewe or byce, and suche other.” HormanniVulgaria, sig. Q i. ed. 1530. “BizeBlew Byze, a delicate Blew.” Holme’sAcad. of Arm., 1688. B. iii. p. 145.

Page 407. v. 1158.gressoppes] i. e. grasshoppers: see note, p. 125. v. 137.

Page 408. v. 1159.fresshe] i. e. gay, gorgeous: see note on v. 39. p. 302.

v. 1160.Enflorid] i. e. Enflowered (embellished, for it applies partly to the “snaylis”).

v. 1161.Enuyuid picturis well towchid and quikly]—Enuyuid, i. e. envived:quikly, livelily, to the life; a somewhat pleonastic line, as before, see note, p. 261. v. 1569.

v. 1162.hole ... be ... sekely] i. e. whole ... been ... sickly.

v. 1163.garnysshyd] }

...

v. 1165.bullyons] }

“I hadde leuer haue my boke sowed in a forel [in cuculli involucro] than bounde in bourdes, and couered and clasped, andgarnyshed with bolyons[vmbilicis].” HormanniVulgaria, sig. Q iiii. ed. 1530:bullyons, i. e. bosses, studs.

——worth a thousande pounde] An expression found in other early poets;

“And euery bosse of bridle and paitrellThat they had, wasworth, as I would wene,A thousand pound.”Chaucer’sFloure and Leafe,—Workes, fol. 345. ed. 1602.

“And euery bosse of bridle and paitrellThat they had, wasworth, as I would wene,A thousand pound.”

“And euery bosse of bridle and paitrell

That they had, wasworth, as I would wene,

A thousand pound.”

Chaucer’sFloure and Leafe,—Workes, fol. 345. ed. 1602.

v. 1166.balassis] Tyrwhitt (Gloss, toChaucer’s Cant. Tales) explainsBalesto be “a sort of bastard Ruby.” Du Cange(Gloss.) has “Balascus, Carbunculus, cujus rubor et fulgor dilutiores sunt ... a Balascia Indiæ regione ... dicti ejusmodi lapides pretiosi.” Marco Polo tells us, “In this country [BalashanorBadakhshan] are found the precious stones calledbalassrubies, of fine quality and great value.”Travels, p. 129, translated by Marsden, who in his learned note on the passage (p. 132) observes that in the Latin version it is said expressly that these stones have their name from the country. See too Sir F. Madden’s note onPrivy Purse Expenses of the Princess Mary, p. 209.

v. 1167.aurum musicum] i. e.aurum musaicumormusivum,—mosaic gold.

v. 1172.Boke of Honorous Astate] i. e. Book of HonourableEstate. Like many other of the pieces which Skelton proceeds to enumerate, it is not known to exist. When any of his still extant writings are mentioned in this catalogue, I shall refer to the places where they may be found in the present volumes.

Page 408. v. 1176.to lerne you to dye when ye wyll] A version probably of the same piece which was translated and published by Caxton under the title ofA lityll treatise shorte and abredged spekynge of the arte and crafte to knowe well to dye, 1490, folio. Caxton translated it from the French: the original Latin was a work of great celebrity.

v. 1178.Rosiar] i. e. Rose-bush.

——Prince Arturis Creacyoun] Arthur, the eldest son of King Henry the Seventh, was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, 1st Oct. 1489: see Sandford’sGeneal. Hist.p. 475. ed. 1707.

Page 409. v. 1183.Bowche of Courte] In vol. i. 30.

v. 1185.Of Tullis Familiars the translacyoun] Is noticed with praise in Caxton’s Preface toThe Boke of Eneydos, &c. 1490: see the passage cited inAccount of Skelton and his Writings.

v. 1187.The Recule ageinst Gaguyne of the Frenshe nacyoun]—Recule, Fr.recueil, is properly—a collection of several writings: it occurs again in v. 1390; and inSpeke, Parrot, v. 232. vol. ii. 11. Concerning Gaguin, seeAccount of Shelton and his Writings.

v. 1188.

the Popingay, that hath in commendacyounLadyes and gentylwomen suche as deseruyd,And suche as be counterfettis they be reseruyd]

the Popingay, that hath in commendacyoun

Ladyes and gentylwomen suche as deseruyd,

And suche as be counterfettis they be reseruyd]

—Popingay, i. e. Parrot: “Reservedexceptesauf.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xciiii. (Table of Adiect.).—No part ofSpeke, Parrot(in vol. ii. 1), answers to this description: but “the Popingay” is certainly only another name forSpeke, Parrot(see v. 280. vol. ii. 14); and Skelton must allude here to some portion, now lost, of that composition.

v. 1192.Magnyfycence] In vol. i. 225.

v. 1193.new get] See note, p. 242. v. 458.

v. 1196.wele] i. e. well.

v. 1198.Of manerly maistres Margery Mylke and Ale, &c.] In vol. i. 28. is one of the “many maters of myrthe” which Skelton here says that he “wrote to her.”

v. 1202.Lor] A corruption ofLord.

v. 1203.Gingirly, go gingerly] “Gyngerly: A pas menus, asAllez a pas menu ma fille.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxli. (Table of Aduerb.).

Page 410. v. 1206.This fustiane maistres and this giggisse gase]maistres, i. e. mistress:giggisse, i. e. giggish,—which Forby gives, with the sense of—trifling, silly, flighty (Vocab. of East Anglia); but here perhaps the word implies something of wantonness:gase, i. e. goose.

Page 410. v. 1207.wrenchis] See note, p. 100. v. 25.

v. 1209.shuld not crase] i. e. that it should not break.

v. 1210.It may wele ryme, but shroudly it doth accorde]—wele, i. e. well:shroudly, i. e. shrewdly, badly. A copy of verses on Inconsistency by Lydgate has for its burden,

“It may wele ryme, but it accordith nought.”MS. Harl.2251. fol. 26.

“It may wele ryme, but it accordith nought.”

MS. Harl.2251. fol. 26.

v. 1211.pyke ... potshorde] i. e. pick ... potsherd.

v. 1218.mo] i. e. more.

v. 1219.

Of my ladys grace at the contemplacyoun,Owt of Frenshe into Englysshe prose,Of Mannes Lyfe the Peregrynacioun,He did translate, enterprete, and disclose]

Of my ladys grace at the contemplacyoun,

Owt of Frenshe into Englysshe prose,

Of Mannes Lyfe the Peregrynacioun,

He did translate, enterprete, and disclose]

—at the contemplacyoun; see note on heading of Epitaph, p. 214:my ladys gracemeans perhaps the mother of Henry the Seventh, the Countess of Derby; see note on title of Elegy, p. 226. Warton says that this piece was “from the French, perhaps, of Guillaume [de Guilleville] prior of Chalis. But it should be observed that Pynson printedPeregrinatio humani generis, 1508. 4to.”Hist, of E. P., ii. 337 (note), ed. 4to.The Pylgremage of the Soule translatid oute of Frensshe in to Englysshe with somwhat of additions, the yere of our lordM.CCCC& thyrten, and endeth in the Vigyle of seynt Bartholomew Emprynted at Westmestre by William Caxton, And fynysshed the sixth day of Juyn, the yere of our lord,M.CCCC.LXXXIIIAnd the first yere of the regne of kynge Edward the fyfthe. fol., was taken from the French of Guillaume de Guilleville (seeBiog. Univ.xix. 169); but, though Skelton was in all probability an author as early as 1583, there is no reason for supposing that the volume just described had received any revision from him.Peregrinatio Humani Generis, printed by Pynson in 4to., 1508, is, according to Herbert (Typ. Ant.ii. 430. ed. Dibdin), “in ballad verse, or stanzas of seven lines:” it cannot therefore be the piece mentioned here by Skelton, which he expressly tells us was in “prose.”

v. 1226.creauncer] See note, p. 193. v. 102.

Page 411. v. 1229.Speculum Principis] A piece by Skelton entitledMethodos Skeltonidis Laureati, sc.Præcepta quædam moralia Henrico principi, postea Hen. viii. missa. Dat. apud Eltham.A.D. MDI.was once among the MSS. in the Library of Lincoln Cathedral,but is now marked as missing in the Catalogue of that collection, and has been sought for in vain. Whether it was the same work as that mentioned in the present passage, I am unable to determine.

Page 411. v. 1229.honde] i. e. hand.

v. 1231.astate] i. e. estate, state.

v. 1233.the Tunnynge of Elinour Rummyng] In vol. i. 95.

v. 1234.Colyn Clowt] In vol. i. 311.

——Iohnn Iue, with Ioforth Iack] In 1511, a woman being indicted for heresy, “her husband deposed, that in the end of the reign of King Edward the Fourth, oneJohn Ivehad persuaded her into these opinions, in which she had persisted ever since.” Burnet’sHist. of the Reform.i. 51. ed. 1816. The words “withIoforth, Iack,” were perhaps a portion of Skelton’s poem concerning this John Ive:ioforthis an exclamation used in driving horses;

“Harrer, Morelle,iofurthe, hyte.”Mactacio Abel,—Towneley Mysteries, p. 9.

“Harrer, Morelle,iofurthe, hyte.”

Mactacio Abel,—Towneley Mysteries, p. 9.

v. 1235.make ... konnyng] i. e. compose ... knowledge, skill, ability.

v. 1236.parde] i. e.par dieu, verily.

v. 1238.conueyauns] See the long speech of Crafty Conueyaunce in our author’sMagnyfycence, v. 1343 sqq. vol. i, 268.

v. 1239.the Walshemannys hoos] See note, p. 289. v. 780.

v. 1240.vmblis] i. e. parts of the inwards of a deer. “Noumblesof a dere or beestentrailles.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. 1. (Table of Subst.). And see Sir F. Madden’s note,Syr Gawayne, &c. p. 322.

————the botell of wyne,To fayre maistres Anne that shuld haue be sent]

————the botell of wyne,

To fayre maistres Anne that shuld haue be sent]

Such a present seems to have been not uncommon;

“Beddes, brochys, andbotelles of wyen he to the lady sent.”Lydgate’sBallad of A Prioress and her three Wooers,—MS. Harl.78. fol. 74.

“Beddes, brochys, andbotelles of wyen he to the lady sent.”

Lydgate’sBallad of A Prioress and her three Wooers,—MS. Harl.78. fol. 74.

The “maistres Anne” here mentioned is doubtless the lady to whom the lines in vol. i. 20 are addressed.

v. 1242.wrate ... praty] i. e. wrote ... pretty.

v. 1246.longyth] i. e. belongeth.

v. 1247.

Of one Adame all a knaue...He wrate an Epitaph, &c.]

Of one Adame all a knaue

...

He wrate an Epitaph, &c.]

In vol. i. 171.

v. 1250.agerdows] i. e. eager, keen, severe.

v. 1254.Phillip Sparow] In vol. i, 51.

Page 412. v. 1257.Yet sum there be therewith that take greuaunce] See notes, p. 149 sqq., where will be found illustrations of the portion ofPhyllyp Sparowewhich is inserted in the present poem.

Page 415. v. 1376.The Gruntyng and the groynninge of the gronnyng swyne] See note, p. 180. v. 2.

v. 1377.the Murnyng of the mapely rote]—mapely rote, i. e. maple-root.—In Ravenscroft’sPammelia, 1609, part of a nonsensical song (No. 31) is as follows;

“My Ladies gone to Canterbury,S. Thomas be her boote.Shee met with Kate of Malmsbury,Why weepst thou maple roote?”

“My Ladies gone to Canterbury,

S. Thomas be her boote.

Shee met with Kate of Malmsbury,

Why weepst thou maple roote?”

a recollection perhaps of Skelton’s lost ballad.

Page 416. v. 1378.pine] i. e. pain, grief.

v. 1379.a cote] i. e. a coot (water-fowl).

v. 1380.birdbolt] i. e. a blunt arrow used to kill birds; see Nares’sGloss.in v. and in v.Bolt.

——hart rote] i. e. heart-root.

v. 1381.Moyses hornis] So Lydgate;

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