Chapter 8

“The childe playes hym at the balle,That salleowttrayezow alle.”The Awntyrs of Arthurs, p. 110. (Syr Gawayne, &c.)

“The childe playes hym at the balle,That salleowttrayezow alle.”

“The childe playes hym at the balle,

That salleowttrayezow alle.”

The Awntyrs of Arthurs, p. 110. (Syr Gawayne, &c.)

where Sir F. Madden explains it “injure, destroy.”—In our text, “outraye” is equivalent to—vanquish, overcome; and so in the following passages;

“The cause why Demostenes so famously is brutid,Onely procedid for that he didoutrayEschines, whiche was not shamefully confutidBut of that famous oratour, I say,Whiche passid all other; wherfore I mayAmong my recordes suffer hym namyd,For though he werevenquesshid, yet was he not shamyd.”Skelton’sGarlande of Laurell, v. 155. vol. i. 368.

“The cause why Demostenes so famously is brutid,

Onely procedid for that he didoutray

Eschines, whiche was not shamefully confutid

But of that famous oratour, I say,

Whiche passid all other; wherfore I may

Among my recordes suffer hym namyd,

For though he werevenquesshid, yet was he not shamyd.”

Skelton’sGarlande of Laurell, v. 155. vol. i. 368.

(Richardson, in his valuableDictionary, v.Out-rage, &c., says that, in the stanza just cited,outray“is evidently—to exceed, to excel;” but the last line of the stanza, together with the present passage ofPhyllyp Sparowe, and the annexed quotations from Lydgate, shew that he is mistaken.)

“Whom Hercules most strong and coragious,Sumtimeoutraid, and slewe hym with his hand.”Lydgate’sFall of Prynces, B. i. leaf xxvii. ed. Wayland.

“Whom Hercules most strong and coragious,Sumtimeoutraid, and slewe hym with his hand.”

“Whom Hercules most strong and coragious,

Sumtimeoutraid, and slewe hym with his hand.”

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

“Al be that Cresus faught long in hys defence,He finally by Cyrus wasoutrayed,And depriued by knyghtly vyolence,Take in the felde,” &c.Id.B. ii. leaf lviii.

“Al be that Cresus faught long in hys defence,He finally by Cyrus wasoutrayed,And depriued by knyghtly vyolence,Take in the felde,” &c.

“Al be that Cresus faught long in hys defence,

He finally by Cyrus wasoutrayed,

And depriued by knyghtly vyolence,

Take in the felde,” &c.

Id.B. ii. leaf lviii.

“But it may fall, a dwerye [i. e. dwarf] in his right,Tooutraya gyaunt for all his gret might.”Id.B. iii. leaf lxvii.

“But it may fall, a dwerye [i. e. dwarf] in his right,Tooutraya gyaunt for all his gret might.”

“But it may fall, a dwerye [i. e. dwarf] in his right,

Tooutraya gyaunt for all his gret might.”

Id.B. iii. leaf lxvii.

Page 54. v. 98.Zenophontes] i. e. Xenophon: see note on v. 70, preceding page.

v. 107.thought] See notes, p. 101. v. 10. p. 104. last line.

v. 114.go] i. e. gone.

v. 115.fole] i. e. fool.

v. 116.stole] i. e. stool.

v. 117.scole] i. e. school, instruction.

v. 118.

For to kepe his cut,With, Phyllyp, kepe your cut!]

For to kepe his cut,

With, Phyllyp, kepe your cut!]

Compare Gascoigne in a little poem entitledThe praise of Philip Sparrow;

“As if you say butfend cutphip,Lord how the peat will turne and skip.”Workes(Weedes), p. 285. ed. 1587.

“As if you say butfend cutphip,Lord how the peat will turne and skip.”

“As if you say butfend cutphip,

Lord how the peat will turne and skip.”

Workes(Weedes), p. 285. ed. 1587.

Sir Philip Sidney in a sonnet;

“Good brother Philip, I haue borne you long,I was content you should in fauour creepe,While craftily you seem’d yourcut to keepe,As though that faire soft hand did you great wrong.”Astrophel and Stella, p. 548. ed. 1613.

“Good brother Philip, I haue borne you long,I was content you should in fauour creepe,While craftily you seem’d yourcut to keepe,As though that faire soft hand did you great wrong.”

“Good brother Philip, I haue borne you long,

I was content you should in fauour creepe,

While craftily you seem’d yourcut to keepe,

As though that faire soft hand did you great wrong.”

Astrophel and Stella, p. 548. ed. 1613.

Brome inThe Northern Lasse, 1632;

“A bonny bonny Bird I hadA bird that was my Marroe:A bird whose pastime made me glad,And Phillip twas my Sparrow.A pretty Play-fere: Chirp it would,And hop, and fly to fist,Keepe cut, as ’twere a Vsurers Gold,And bill me when I list.”Act iii. sc. 2. sig. G 2.

“A bonny bonny Bird I had

A bird that was my Marroe:

A bird whose pastime made me glad,

And Phillip twas my Sparrow.

A pretty Play-fere: Chirp it would,

And hop, and fly to fist,

Keepe cut, as ’twere a Vsurers Gold,

And bill me when I list.”

Act iii. sc. 2. sig. G 2.

and inThe New Academy; “But look how she turnes andkeeps cut like my Sparrow. She will be my back Sweet-heart still I see, and love me behind.” Act iv. sc. 1. p. 72. (Five New Playes, 1659).

Page 55. v. 125.

Betwene my brestes softeIt wolde lye and rest]

Betwene my brestes softe

It wolde lye and rest]

So Catullus, in the beginning of his versesAd Passerem Lesbiæ, (a distinct poem from that mentioned at p. 120);

“Passer, deliciæ meæ puellæ,Quicum ludere,quem in sinu tenere,” &c.

“Passer, deliciæ meæ puellæ,

Quicum ludere,quem in sinu tenere,” &c.

v. 127.It was propre and prest] Compare v. 264, “Aspretyand asprest,” where “prety” answers to “propre” in the present line. “Properor feate.coint,godin,gentil,mignot.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr.1530. fol. xciii. (Table of Adiect.):—prest, which generally means—ready, seems here to be nearly synonymous withpropre; and so in a passage of Tusser,—“more handsome, andprest,”—cited by Todd (Johnson’s Dict.in v.), who explains it “neat, tight.”

v. 137.gressop] i. e. grasshopper.—“Cicada... anglicea gresse hoppe.”Ortus Vocab., fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d.

v. 138.Phyp, Phyp] See note on v. 7. p. 121.

v. 141.slo] i. e. slay.

v. 147.dome] i. e. judgment, thinking.

v. 148.Sulpicia] Lived in the age of Domitian. Her satireDe corrupto statu reipub. temporibus Domitiani, præsertim cum edicto Philosophos urbe exegisset, may be found in Wernsdorf’s ed. ofPoetæ Latini Minores, iii. 83.

v. 151.pas] i. e. pass, excel.

v. 154.pretende] i. e. attempt.

Page 56. v. 171.perde] i. e.par dieu, verily.

v. 173.nyse] i. e. foolish, inclined to folly, to toyish tricks: compare our author’sManerly Margery, &c., v. 2. vol. i. 28.

v. 176.To pyke my lytell too]—too, i. e. toe.—In a comedy (already mentioned, p. 93. v. 15),The longer thou liuest, the more foole thou art, &c., n. d., by W. Wager, Moros sings

“I haue a prety tytmouseComepicking on my to.”sig. D ii.

“I haue a prety tytmouseComepicking on my to.”

“I haue a prety tytmouse

Comepicking on my to.”

sig. D ii.

v. 186.ryde and go] A sort of pleonastic expression which repeatedly occurs in our early writers.

Page 57. v. 192.Pargame] i. e. Pergamus.

v. 198.wete] i. e. know.

v. 205.be quycke] i. e. be made alive.

Page 57. v. 211.the nones] i. e. the occasion.

v. 213.My sparow whyte as mylke] Compare Sir P. Sidney;

“They saw a maid who thitherward did runne,To catch her sparrow which from her did swerue,As shee a black-silke Cappe on him begunneTo sett, for foile of hismilke-whiteto serue.”Arcadia, lib. i. p. 85. ed. 1613.

“They saw a maid who thitherward did runne,To catch her sparrow which from her did swerue,As shee a black-silke Cappe on him begunneTo sett, for foile of hismilke-whiteto serue.”

“They saw a maid who thitherward did runne,

To catch her sparrow which from her did swerue,

As shee a black-silke Cappe on him begunne

To sett, for foile of hismilke-whiteto serue.”

Arcadia, lib. i. p. 85. ed. 1613.

and Drayton;

“I haue two Sparroweswhite as Snow.”The Muses Elizium, p. 14. ed. 1630.

“I haue two Sparroweswhite as Snow.”

The Muses Elizium, p. 14. ed. 1630.

v. 216.importe] i. e. impart.

v. 218.solas] i. e. amusement.

Page 58. v. 227.hear] i. e. hair.

v. 230.kest] i. e. cast.

v. 242.bederoule] See note on v. 12. p. 122.

v. 244.Cam, and Sem] i. e. Ham, and Shem.

v. 247.the hylles of Armony]—Armony, i. e. Armenia.—So inProcessus Noe;

“What grownd may this be?Noe. The hyllys of Armonye.”Townley Myst.p. 32.

“What grownd may this be?Noe. The hyllys of Armonye.”

“What grownd may this be?

Noe. The hyllys of Armonye.”

Townley Myst.p. 32.

See also Lydgate’sFall of Prynces, B. i. leaf iiii. ed. Wayland, and Heywood’sFoure P. P., sig. A i. ed. n. d.

v. 248.

Wherfore the birdes yet cryOf your fathers bote]

Wherfore the birdes yet cry

Of your fathers bote]

The reading of Kele’s ed., “bordes,” (as I have already observedad loc.) is perhaps the true one;—(comparePierce Plowman;

“And [God] came to Noe anone, and bad him not letSwyth go shape a shype of shydes and ofbordes.”Pass. Non. sig. M ii. ed. 1561.)—

“And [God] came to Noe anone, and bad him not letSwyth go shape a shype of shydes and ofbordes.”

“And [God] came to Noe anone, and bad him not let

Swyth go shape a shype of shydes and ofbordes.”

Pass. Non. sig. M ii. ed. 1561.)—

and qy. did Skelton write,—

“Whereonthebordesyetlye?”

v. 253.it hyght] i. e. it is called.

Page 59. v. 264.prest] See note on v. 127, preceding page.

v. 272.hardely] i. e. assuredly.

v. 273.vengeaunce I aske and crye] CompareMagnus Herodes;

“Venjance I cry and calle.”Townley Myst.p. 149.

“Venjance I cry and calle.”

Townley Myst.p. 149.

v. 281.Carowe] See note on v. 8. p. 121.

v. 282.carlyshe kynde] i. e. churlish nature.

v. 283.fynde] i. e. fiend.

Page 59. v. 284.vntwynde] i. e. tore to pieces, destroyed: so again in our author’sGarlande of Laurell;

“This goodly flowre with stormis wasvntwynde.”v. 1445. vol. i. 418.

“This goodly flowre with stormis wasvntwynde.”

v. 1445. vol. i. 418.

Page 60. v. 290.Lybany] i. e. Libya.

v. 294.mantycors] “Another maner of bestes ther is in ynde that ben callydmanticora, and hath visage of a man, and thre huge grete teeth in his throte, he hath eyen lyke a ghoot and body of a lyon, tayll of a Scorpyon and voys of a serpente in suche wyse that by his swete songe he draweth to hym the peple and deuoureth them And is more delyuerer to goo than is a fowle to flee.” Caxton’sMirrour of the world, 1480. sig. e vii. See also R. Holme’sAc. of Armory, 1688. B. ii. p. 212.—This fabulous account is derived from Pliny.

v. 296.Melanchates, that hounde, &c.] See the story of Actæon in Ovid’sMetam.;

“PrimaMelanchætesin tergo vulnera fecit.” iii. 232.

v. 305.

That his owne lord bote,Myght byte asondre thy throte!]

That his owne lord bote,

Myght byte asondre thy throte!]

—bote, i. e. bit.—So inSyr Tryamoure;

“He toke the stuarde by thethrote,Andasonderhe itbotte.”Early Pop. Poetry(by Utterson), i. 28.

“He toke the stuarde by thethrote,Andasonderhe itbotte.”

“He toke the stuarde by thethrote,

Andasonderhe itbotte.”

Early Pop. Poetry(by Utterson), i. 28.

v. 307.grypes] i. e. griffins.

v. 311.The wylde wolfe Lycaon] See Ovid’sMetam.i. 163 sqq. for an account of Lycaon, king of Arcadia, being transformed into a wolf. I ought to add, that he figures in a work well known to the readers of Skelton’s time—The Recuyel of the Historyes of Troy.

v. 313.brennynge] i. e. burning.

Page 61. v. 325.gentle of corage]—corage, i. e. heart, mind, disposition. So in our author’sMagnyfycence; “Begentyllthenof corage.” v. 2511. vol. i. 308.

v. 329.departed] i. e. parted. So in our old marriage-service; “till death usdepart.”

v. 336.rew] i. e. have compassion.

v. 345.

And go in at my spayre,And crepe in at my goreOf my gowne before]

And go in at my spayre,

And crepe in at my gore

Of my gowne before]

“Cluniculum, an hole or aspayreof a womans smoke.”Ortus Vocab.fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d. (In ed. 1514 of that work—“spayreof a womans kyrtell”). “Sparreof a gownefente de la robe.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxvi. (Table of Subst.). “That parte of weemens claiths, sik as of their gowne or petticot, quhilk vnder the belt and before is open, commonly is called thespare.” Skene, quoted by Jamieson,Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang.in v.Spare.——“Lacinia... anglice a heme of clothe or agore.”Ortus. Vocab.fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d. (ed. 1514 of that work adds “or a trayne”). “Gooreof a smockepoynte de chemise.” Palsgrave,ubi supra, fol. xxxvii. (Table of Subst.). Jamieson (ubi supra), in v.Gair, says it was “a stripe or triangular piece of cloth, inserted at the bottom, on each side of a shift or of a robe,”—a description which agrees with that of R. Holme,Ac. of Armory, 1688. B. iii. p. 95.

Page 61. v. 351.myne hert it sleth]—sleth, i. e. slayeth.—So Chaucer;

“Thise rockesslee min hertefor the fere.”The Frankeleines Tale, v. 11205. ed. Tyr.

“Thise rockesslee min hertefor the fere.”

The Frankeleines Tale, v. 11205. ed. Tyr.

Page 62. v. 360.Phyppes] See note on v. 7. p. 121.

v. 361.kusse] i. e. kiss.

“And if he maie no more do,Yet woll he stele acusseor two.”Gower’sConf. Am.lib. v. fol. cxix. ed. 1554.

“And if he maie no more do,Yet woll he stele acusseor two.”

“And if he maie no more do,

Yet woll he stele acusseor two.”

Gower’sConf. Am.lib. v. fol. cxix. ed. 1554.

v. 362.musse] i. e. muzzle,—mouth.

v. 366.this] i. e. thus: see note, p. 86. v. 38.

v. 375.Gyb] See note on v. 27. p. 122.

v. 383.bederolle] See note on v. 12. p. 122.

Page 63. v. 387.

To wepe with me loke that ye come,All maner of byrdes in your kynd, &c.]

To wepe with me loke that ye come,

All maner of byrdes in your kynd, &c.]

—loke, i. e. look. Compare Ovid (see note on title of this poem, p. 120);

“Psittacus, Eois imitatrix ales ab Indis,Occidit: exequias ite frequenter, aves.Ite, piæ volucres, et plangite pectora pennis,Et rigido teneras ungue notate genas.Horrida pro moestis lanictur pluma capillis,Pro longa resonent carmina vestra tuba.”Amor.lib. ii. El. vi. 5. 1.

“Psittacus, Eois imitatrix ales ab Indis,

Occidit: exequias ite frequenter, aves.

Ite, piæ volucres, et plangite pectora pennis,

Et rigido teneras ungue notate genas.

Horrida pro moestis lanictur pluma capillis,

Pro longa resonent carmina vestra tuba.”

Amor.lib. ii. El. vi. 5. 1.

v. 396.ianglynge] i. e. babbling, chattering—an epithet generally applied to the jay by our old poets.

v. 397.fleckyd] i. e. spotted, variegated.

v. 403.the red sparow] i. e. the reed-sparrow.

“TheRed-sparrow, the Nope, the Red-breast, and the Wren.”Drayton’sPolyolbion, Song xiii. p. 215. ed. 1622.

“TheRed-sparrow, the Nope, the Red-breast, and the Wren.”

Drayton’sPolyolbion, Song xiii. p. 215. ed. 1622.

“TheRed Sparrow, or Reed Sparrow.” R. Holme’sAc. of Armory, 1688. B. ii. p. 246.

Page 63. v. 406.to] i. e. toe.

v. 407.The spynke] i. e. The chaffinch. In theCountrie Farme, the “spinke” is frequently mentioned (see pp. 886, 890, 891, 898, 900. ed. 1600); and in the French work by Estienne and Liebault, from which it is translated, the corresponding word is “pinçon:” in Cotgrave’sDict.is “Pinson.A Spink,Chaffinch, or Sheldaple;” and in Moor’sSuffolk Words, “Spinx. The chaffinch.” R. Niccolls, in a poem which contains several pretty passages, has

“The speckledSpinck, that liues by gummie sappe.”The Cuckow, 1607. p. 13.

“The speckledSpinck, that liues by gummie sappe.”

The Cuckow, 1607. p. 13.

v. 409.The doterell, that folyshe pek] The dotterel is said to allow itself to be caught, while it imitates the gestures of the fowler:pek, orpeke, seems here to be used by Skelton in the sense of—contemptible fellow; so in hisCollyn Cloute;

“Of suchePater-noster pekesAll the worlde spekes.”v. 264. vol. i. 321.

“Of suchePater-noster pekesAll the worlde spekes.”

“Of suchePater-noster pekes

All the worlde spekes.”

v. 264. vol. i. 321.

In HormanniVulgariawe find: “He is shamefast but notpekysshe. Verecundus est sineignauia.” sig. N i. ed. 1530.—And see Todd’s Johnson’sDict., and Richardson’sDict.in v.Peak.

v. 411.toote] i. e. pry, peep, search.

v. 412.the snyte] i. e. the snipe.

v. 415.His playne songe to solfe] See note, p. 95, v. 48:solfe, i. e. solfa.

v. 418.

The woodhacke, that syngeth churHorsly, as he had the mur]

The woodhacke, that syngeth chur

Horsly, as he had the mur]

—woodhacke, i. e. woodpecker. “Wodehacor nothac byrde. Picus.”Prompt. Parv.ed. 1499:mur, i. e. a severe cold with hoarseness. Compare Lydgate;

“And at his feete lay a prykeryd curreHe rateled in the throteas he had the murre.”Le Assemble de dyeus, sig. b i. n. d. 4to.

“And at his feete lay a prykeryd curreHe rateled in the throteas he had the murre.”

“And at his feete lay a prykeryd curre

He rateled in the throteas he had the murre.”

Le Assemble de dyeus, sig. b i. n. d. 4to.

v. 420.lusty] i. e. pleasant.

v. 421.The popyngay] i. e. The parrot.

Page 64. v. 422.toteth] Ortooteth; see note on v. 411.

v. 424.The mauys] Is properly the song-thrush, as distinguished from the missel-thrush: see note on v. 460, p. 131.

v. 425.the pystell] i. e. the Epistle.

v. 426.a large and a longe] See note, p. 95. v. 49.

Page 64. v. 427.

To kepe iust playne songe,Our chaunters shalbe the cuckoue]

To kepe iust playne songe,

Our chaunters shalbe the cuckoue]

See note, p. 95. v. 48. So Shakespeare mentions “the plain-song cuckoogray.”Mids. Night’s Dream, act iii. sc. 1.

v. 430.puwyt the lapwyng] In some parts of England, the lapwing is calledpewitfrom its peculiar cry.

v. 432.The bitter with his bumpe] “TheBitter, or Bitterne,Bumpeth, when he puts his Bill in the reeds.” R. Holme’sAc. of Armory, 1688. B. ii. p. 310.

v. 434.Menander] Means hereMæander: but I have not altered the text; because our early poets took great liberties with classical names; because all the eds. of Skelton’sSpeke, Parrot, have

“Alexander, a gander ofMenanderspole.”v. 178. vol. ii. 9.

“Alexander, a gander ofMenanderspole.”

v. 178. vol. ii. 9.

and because the following passage occurs in a poem by some imitator of Skelton, which is appended to the present edition;

“Wotes not wher to wander,Whether toMeander,Or vntoMenander.”The Image of Ipocrisy, Part Third.

“Wotes not wher to wander,Whether toMeander,Or vntoMenander.”

“Wotes not wher to wander,

Whether toMeander,

Or vntoMenander.”

The Image of Ipocrisy, Part Third.

v. 437.wake] i. e. watching of the dead body during the night.

v. 441.He shall syng the grayle]—grayle, says Warton (correcting an explanation he had formerly given), signifies here “Graduale, or theResponsorium, orAntiphonarium, in the Romish service.... He shall sing that part of the service which is called theGrayle, orgraduale.”Obs. on the F. Queen, ii. 244. ed. 1762. See too Du Cange in v.Gradale, and Roquefort in v.Gréel.

v. 442.The owle, that is so foule]—foule, i. e. ugly. The Houlate, (in the poem so called, by Holland), says,

“Thus all the foulis, for myfilth, hes me at feid.”Pinkerton’sScot. Poems, iii. 149.

“Thus all the foulis, for myfilth, hes me at feid.”

Pinkerton’sScot. Poems, iii. 149.

v. 444.gaunce] i. e. gaunt.

v. 445.the cormoraunce] i. e. the cormorant.

v. 447.the gaglynge gaunte] InPrompt. Parv.is “Gantbirde. Bistarda.” ed. 1499. Palsgrave gives “Gantbyrde,” without a corresponding French term.Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xxxv. (Table of Subst.). Our author in hisElynour Rummynghas—

“In came another dant,Wyth a gose and agant.”v. 515. vol. i. 111;

“In came another dant,Wyth a gose and agant.”

“In came another dant,

Wyth a gose and agant.”

v. 515. vol. i. 111;

wheregantis plainly used for gander. In the present passage, however,gauntemust have a different signification (“The gose andthegander” being mentioned v. 435), and means, I apprehend,—wild-goose: Du Cange has “Gantæ, Anseres silvestres,” &c.; and see Roquefort in v.Gans.But Nares, MS. note on Skelton, explainsgaunte—gannet.

Page 64. v. 449.The route and the kowgh] The Rev. J. Mitford suggests that the right reading is “Theknoutand therowgh,”—i. e. the knot and the ruff.

v. 450.The barnacle] i. e. The goose-barnacle,—concerning the production of which the most absurd fables were told and credited: some asserted that it was originally the shell-fish called barnacle, others that it grew on trees, &c.

v. 451.the wilde mallarde] i. e. the wild-drake.

Page 65. v. 452.The dyuendop] i. e. The dabchick or didapper.

v. 454.The puffin] A water-fowl with a singular bill.

v. 455.Money they shall dele, &c.] According to the ancient custom at funerals.

v. 458.the tytmose] i. e. the titmouse.

v. 460.The threstyl] Orthrostle, is properly the missel-thrush: see note on v. 424. p. 129.

v. 461.brablyng] i. e. clamour, noise—properly, quarrel, squabble.

v. 462.The roke] i. e. The rook.

——the osprayeThat putteth fysshes to a fraye]

——the ospraye

That putteth fysshes to a fraye]

—fraye, i. e. fright. It was said that when the osprey, which feeds on fish, hovered over the water, they became fascinated and turned up their bellies.

v. 464.denty] i. e. dainty.

v. 468.The countrynge of the coe]—countrynge; see note, p. 92:coe, i. e. jack-daw; “Coobirde. Monedula. Nodula.”Prompt. Parv.ed. 1499.

v. 469.

The storke also,That maketh his nestIn chymneyes to rest;Within those wallesNo broken gallesMay there abydeOf cokoldry syde]

The storke also,

That maketh his nest

In chymneyes to rest;

Within those walles

No broken galles

May there abyde

Of cokoldry syde]

The stork breeds in chimney-tops, and was fabled to forsake the place, if the man or wife of the house committed adultery. The following lines of Lydgate will illustrate the rest of the passage:

“a certaine knightGyges called, thinge shameful to be tolde,To speke plaine englishe, made him [i. e. Candaules] cokolde.Alas I was not auised wel beforne,Vnkonnyngly to speake such langage,I should haue sayde how that he had an horne,Or sought some terme wyth a fayre vysage,To excuse my rudenesse of thys gret outrage:And in some land Cornodo men do them cal,And some affirme thatsuch folke haue no gal.”Fall of Prynces, B. ii. leaf lvi. ed. Wayland.

“a certaine knight

Gyges called, thinge shameful to be tolde,

To speke plaine englishe, made him [i. e. Candaules] cokolde.

Alas I was not auised wel beforne,

Vnkonnyngly to speake such langage,

I should haue sayde how that he had an horne,

Or sought some terme wyth a fayre vysage,

To excuse my rudenesse of thys gret outrage:

And in some land Cornodo men do them cal,

And some affirme thatsuch folke haue no gal.”

Fall of Prynces, B. ii. leaf lvi. ed. Wayland.

Page 65. v. 478.

The estryge, that wyll eateAn horshowe so great]

The estryge, that wyll eate

An horshowe so great]

—estryge, i. e. ostrich:horshowe, i. e. horse-shoe.—InStruthiocamelus, a portion of that strange bookPhilomythie, &c., by Tho. Scot., 1616, a merchant seeing an ostrich, in the desert, eating iron, asks—

“What nourishment can from those mettals grow?The Ostrich answers; Sir, I do not eateThis iron, as you thinke I do, for meate.I only keepe it, lay it vp in store,To helpe my needy friends, the friendlesse poore.I often meete (as farre and neere I goe)Many a fowndred horse that wants a shooe,Seruing a Master that is monylesse:Such I releiue and helpe in their distresse.”Sig. E 7.

“What nourishment can from those mettals grow?

The Ostrich answers; Sir, I do not eate

This iron, as you thinke I do, for meate.

I only keepe it, lay it vp in store,

To helpe my needy friends, the friendlesse poore.

I often meete (as farre and neere I goe)

Many a fowndred horse that wants a shooe,

Seruing a Master that is monylesse:

Such I releiue and helpe in their distresse.”

Sig. E 7.

v. 482.freat] i. e. gnaw, devour.

Page 66. v. 485.at a brayde] Has occurred before in our author’sBowge of Courte; see note, p. 109. v. 181; but here it seems to have a somewhat different meaning, and to signify—at an effort, at a push. “At a brayde, Faysant mon effort, ton effort, son effort, &c.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxxxviii. (Table of Aduerbes). “I Abrayde, I inforce me to do a thynge.” ... “IBreydeI makea braydeto do a thing sodaynly.”Id.fols. cxxxvi. clxxii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 487.To solfe aboue ela]—solfe, i. e. solfa:ela, i. e. the highest note in the scale of music.

v. 488.lorell] i. e. good-for-nothing fellow (see Tyrwhitt’sGloss.to Chaucer’sCant. Tales): used here as a sportive term of reproach.

v. 491.

The best that we can,To make hym our belman,And let hym ryng the bellys;He can do nothyng ellys]

The best that we can,

To make hym our belman,

And let hym ryng the bellys;

He can do nothyng ellys]

“Sit campanista, qui non vult esse sophista, Let him bee a bellringer, that will bee no good Singer.” Withals’sDict.p. 178. ed. 1634.

Page 66. v. 495.

Chaunteclere, our coke,...By the astrologyThat he hath naturally, &c.]

Chaunteclere, our coke,

...

By the astrology

That he hath naturally, &c.]

So Chaucer;

“But whenthe cocke, communeAstrologer,Gan on his brest to beate,” &c.Troilus and Creseide, B. iii. fol. 164.—Workes, ed. 1602.

“But whenthe cocke, communeAstrologer,Gan on his brest to beate,” &c.

“But whenthe cocke, communeAstrologer,

Gan on his brest to beate,” &c.

Troilus and Creseide, B. iii. fol. 164.—Workes, ed. 1602.

See also Lydgate’sWarres of Troy, B. i. sig. D v. ed. 1555; and his copy of verses (entitled in the CatalogueAdvices for people to keep a guard over their tongues),MS. Harl.2255. fol. 132.

v. 499.cought] i. e. caught: compare the first of our author’sBalettys, v. 19. vol. i. 22.

v. 500.tought] i. e. taught. “Musyke hath metought.” Hawes’sPastime of pleasure, sig. G iiii. ed. 1555.

v. 501.Albumazer] A famous Arabian, of the ninth century.

v. 503.

——PtholomyPrince of astronomy]

——Ptholomy

Prince of astronomy]

The celebrated Claudius Ptolemy, an Egyptian: “Il fleurit vers l’an 125 et jusqu’à l’an 139 de l’ère vulgaire.”Biog. Univ.—InThe Shepherds Kalendar(a work popular in the days of Skelton) a chapter is entitled “To know the fortunes and destinies of man born under the xii signs, afterPtolomie, prince of astronomy[i. e. astrology].” “Astronomy, andAstronomer, is the Art of, and the foreteller of things done and past, and what shall happen to any person, &c.” R. Holme’sAc. of Armory, 1688. B. ii. p. 438.

v. 505.Haly] Another famous Arabian: “claruit circa A. C. 1100.” Fabr.Bibl. Gr.xiii. 17.

v. 507.tydes] i. e. times, seasons.

v. 509.Partlot his hen] So in Chaucer’sNonnes Preestes Tale; Lydgate’s copy of verses (entitled in the CatalogueAdvices for people to keep a guard over their tongues),MS. Harl.2255. fol. 132; and G. Douglas’s Prol. to the xii Booke of hisEneados, p. 401. l. 54. ed. Ruddiman, who conjectures that the name was applied to a hen in reference to the ruff (thepartlet), or ring of feathers about her neck.

Page 67. v. 522.thurifycation] i. e. burning incense.

Page 67. v. 524.reflary] As I have already noticed, should probably be “reflayre,”—i. e. odour. See Roquefort’sGloss. de la Lang. Rom.in v.Flareur, andSuppl.in v.Fleror;and Cotgrave’sDict.in v.Reflairer. InThe Garlande of Laurellour author calls a lady “reflaringrosabell.” v. 977. vol. i. 401.

v. 525.eyre] i. e. air, scent.

“Strowed wyth floures, of all goodlyayre.”Hawes’sPastime of pleasure, sig. D iiii. ed. 1555.

“Strowed wyth floures, of all goodlyayre.”

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

See tooThe Pistill of Susan, st. viii.—Laing’sEarly Pop. Poetry of Scot.

v. 534.bemole] i. e. in B molle, soft or flat. So in the last stanza of a poem by W. Cornishe, printed in Marshe’s ed. of Skelton’sWorkes, 1568;

“I kepe be rounde and he by squareThe one isbemoleand the other bequare.”

“I kepe be rounde and he by square

The one isbemoleand the other bequare.”

v. 536.

Plinni sheweth allIn his story naturall]

Plinni sheweth all

In his story naturall]

SeeHistoria Naturalis, lib. x. sect. 2.

v. 540.incyneracyon] i. e. burning to ashes.

v. 545.corage] i. e. heart,—feelings.

Page 68. v. 552.the sedeane] Does it mean subdean, or subdeacon?

v. 553.The quere to demeane] i. e. to conduct, direct the choir.

v. 555.ordynall] i. e. ritual.

v. 556.the noble fawcon] “There are seuen kinds of Falcons, and among them all for hernoblenesseand hardy courage, and withal the francknes of her mettell, I may, and doe meane to place the Falcon gentle in chiefe,” Turbervile’sBooke of Falconrie, &c. p. 25. ed. 1611.

v. 557.the gerfawcon] “Is a gallant Hawke to behold, more huge then any other kinde of Falcon, &c.”Id.p. 42.

v. 558.The tarsell gentyll] Is properly the male of the gosshawk; but Skelton probably did not use the term in its exact meaning, for in the fifth line after this he mentions “the goshauke.” It is commonly said (see Steevens’s note onRomeo and Juliet, act ii. sc. 2.) to be calledtiercelbecause it is atierceor third less than the female. But, according to Turbervile, “he is termed aTyercelet, for that there are most commonly disclosed three birds in one selfe eyree, two Hawkes and one Tiercell.”Booke of Falconrie, &c. p. 59. ed. 1611.

v. 560.amysse] i. e. amice—properly the first of the six vestments common to the bishop and presbyters. “Fyrst do on theamys, than the albe, than the gyrdell, than the manyple, than the stoole, than the chesyble.” HormanniVulgaria, sig. E iiii. ed. 1530.

Page 68. v. 561.The sacre] A hawk “much like the Falcon Gentle for largenesse, and the Haggart for hardines.” Turbervile’sBooke of Falconrie, &c. p. 45. ed. 1611.

v. 563.role] i. e. roll.

v. 565.The lanners] “They are more blancke Hawkes then any other, they haue lesse beakes then the rest, and are lesse armed and pounced then other Falcons be.” Turbervile’sBooke of Falconrie, &c. p. 47. ed. 1611.

——the marlyons] Ormerlins,—the smallest of the hawks used by falconers.

v. 566.morning gounes] i. e. mourning-gowns.

v. 567.The hobby] “Of all birdes of prey that belong to the Falconers vse, I know none lesse then the Hobby, unles it be the Merlyn.” Turbervile’sBooke of Falconrie, &c. p. 53. ed. 1611.

——the muskette] i. e. the male sparrow-hawk. “You must note, that all these kind of hawkes haue their male birdes and cockes of euerie sort and gender, as the Eagle his Earne ... and the Sparrow-hawke hisMusket.”Id.p. 3. “The male sparrow hawke is called amusket.”The Countrie Farme, p. 877. ed. 1600.

v. 568.sensers] i. e. censers.

——fet] i. e. fetch.

v. 569.The kestrell] A sort of base-bred hawk.

——warke] i. e. work, business.

v. 570.holy water clarke] See note, p. 94. v. 21.

Page 69. v. 590.And wrapt in a maidenes smocke] Spenser seems to have recollected this passage: he says, that when Cupid was stung by a bee, Venus

—— “tooke him streight full pitiously lamenting,And wrapt him in her smock.”

—— “tooke him streight full pitiously lamenting,

And wrapt him in her smock.”

See a little poem in hisWorks, viii. 185. ed. Todd.

v. 595.Lenger] i. e. Longer.

v. 600.

——the prety wren,That is our Ladyes hen]

——the prety wren,

That is our Ladyes hen]

So in a poem (attributed, on no authority, to Skelton) entitledArmony of Byrdes, n. d., and reprinted entire inTypogr. Antiq.iv. 380. ed. Dibdin;

“Than saydthe wrenI am calledthe henOf our ladymost cumly.”p. 382.

“Than saydthe wrenI am calledthe henOf our ladymost cumly.”

“Than saydthe wren

I am calledthe hen

Of our ladymost cumly.”

p. 382.

Wilbraham, in hisCheshire Gloss., p. 105, gives the following metrical adage as common in that county;

“The Robin andthe WrenAreGod’scock andhen,The Martin and the SwallowAre God’s mate and marrow.”

“The Robin andthe Wren

AreGod’scock andhen,

The Martin and the Swallow

Are God’s mate and marrow.”

In theBallad of Kynd Kittok, attributed to Dunbar, we are told that after death she “wesour Ledyis henwyfe,”Poems, ii. 36. ed. Laing.—An Elysium, very different from that described in the somewhat profane passage of our text, is assigned by the delicate fancy of Ovid to the parrot of his mistress, in the poem to which (as I have before observed, p. 120,) Skelton seems to have had an eye;

“Colle sub Elysio nigra nemus illice frondens,” &c.Amor.ii. 6. 49.

“Colle sub Elysio nigra nemus illice frondens,” &c.

Amor.ii. 6. 49.

Page 69. v. 609.asayde] i. e. tried—tasted: compare our author’sElynour Rummyng, v. 397. vol. i. 108.

v. 610.Elyconys] i. e. Helicon’s.

Page 70. v. 616.

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