EPITAPHE, &c.

“Sum syng at thelectornewith long eares lyke an asse.”Bale’sKynge Johan, p. 27. Camd. ed.

“Sum syng at thelectornewith long eares lyke an asse.”

Bale’sKynge Johan, p. 27. Camd. ed.

Or simply, a reading-desk: see note on v. 120.

v. 116.With, troll, cytrace, and trouy] So inApius and Virginia, by R. B., 1575;

“Withhey tricke, howtrowle, trey trip, and treytrace.”Sig. B.

“Withhey tricke, howtrowle, trey trip, and treytrace.”

Sig. B.

v. 117.hankin bouy] CompareThersytes, n. d.;

“And we wyll haue minstrelsythat shall pypehankyn boby.”p. 62. Roxb. ed.

“And we wyll haue minstrelsythat shall pypehankyn boby.”

“And we wyll haue minstrelsy

that shall pypehankyn boby.”

p. 62. Roxb. ed.

and Nash’sHaue with you to Saffron-walden, 1596; “No vulgar respects haue I, what Hoppenny Hoe and his fellowHankin Boobythinke of mee.” Sig. K 2: and Brome’sJoviall Crew, 1652; “he makes us even sick of his sadness, that were wont to see my Ghossips cock to day, mould Cocklebread, daunce clutterdepouch andHannykin booby, binde barrels, or do any thing before him, and he would laugh at us.” Act ii. sc. i. sig. D 2.

Page 159. v. 119.fawconer] i. e. falconer.

vv. 120, 121.gospellers...pystillers] “Gospellarthat syngeth the gospell.” “Pysteller[Epistler] that syngeth the masse.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fols. xxxvii., liiii. (Table of Subst.). But in our author’sPhyllyp Sparowewe find,

“Shalrede the Gospellat masse...Shalredetherethe pystell.”vv. 423, 5. vol. i. 64.

“Shalrede the Gospellat masse...Shalredetherethe pystell.”

“Shalrede the Gospellat masse

...

Shalredetherethe pystell.”

vv. 423, 5. vol. i. 64.

and see Todd’s Johnson’sDict.in vv.Gospeller,Epistler.

v. 125.gydynge] “He controlled my lyuynge andgydynge....mores.” HormanniVulgaria, sig. N vi. ed. 1530.

“Wise women has wayis, and wonderfullgydingis.”Dunbar’s tale ofThe Tua Maryit Wemen and the Wedo,—Poems, i. 77. ed. Laing.

“Wise women has wayis, and wonderfullgydingis.”

Dunbar’s tale ofThe Tua Maryit Wemen and the Wedo,—Poems, i. 77. ed. Laing.

v. 127.The rode with Mary and John] See note on v. 69. p. 206.

v. 128.fon] i. e. fool.

v. 129.daw] i. e. simpleton; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 137.hawkis bels] i. e. the bells attached to the feet of the hawk.

v. 138.losels] i. e. good-for-nothing fellows,—the same aslorels, which has several times occurred before (see note, p. 132. v. 488, &c.): “Lorell orlosellor lurdeyn.”Prompt. Parv.ed. 1499. “Lorrell orlosell.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlv. (Table of Subst.).

v. 142.snappar] i. e. stumble; but see note, p. 92. v. 4.

v. 144.loke] i. e. look.

Page 160. v. 146.bokis] i. e. books.

v. 149.mayden Meed] See the allegorical account of Meed inPierce Plowman; where we find,

“That ismede the maid, quod she, hath noyed me full oft.”Sig. B iv. ed. 1561.

“That ismede the maid, quod she, hath noyed me full oft.”

Sig. B iv. ed. 1561.

and again, “Sauemede the mayde,” &c. sig. C iii. “Now ismede the mayde,” &c. ibid.

v. 158.toke] i. e. took.

v. 159.this] Perhaps forthus: compare v. 181.

v. 164.Exodi] i. e. the book ofExodus.

“InExodiben these mencions.”Lydgate’sFall of Prynces, B. i. leaf vii. ed. Wayland.

“InExodiben these mencions.”

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

Page 160. v. 166.Regum] i. e.The Third, now calledThe First, Book of Kings.

Page 161. v. 178.the rode] See note on v. 69. p. 206.

v. 181.this] i. e. thus; see note, p. 86. v. 38.

v. 183.dowues donge] i. e. pigeon’s dung.

v. 194.croked] i. e. crooked.

——Cacus] See extract fromThe Recuyel of the Historyes of Troy, in note, p. 213. v. 23.

v. 196.Nother] i. e. Neither.

——Olibrius] Was “the provost” by whose order Saint Margaret, after being put to sundry tortures, was beheaded at Antioch.Golden Legende, fol. ccxiiii. sqq. ed. 1483. See alsoThe Legend of Seynt Mergrete, printed from the Auchinleck MS., in Turnbull’sLegendæ Catholicæ. Most readers will recollect Mr. Milman’s dramatic poem,The Martyr of Antioch.

v. 198.

——Phalary,Rehersed in Valery]

——Phalary,

Rehersed in Valery]

i. e. Phalaris, recorded in Valerius Maximus, lib. iii. cap. iii. (where it is related that the Agrigentines, at the instigation of Zeno Eleates, stoned the tyrant Phalaris to death. “’Tis plain,” says Bentley, “he mistakes Phalaris for Nearchus.”Diss. upon the Ep. of Phalaris,—Works, i. 241. ed. Dyce), and lib. ix. cap. ii.

v. 200.Sardanapall] So our early writers often spell his name;

“Last of all wasSardanapall.”Lydgate’sFall of Prynces, Boke ii. leaf L. ed. Wayland.

“Last of all wasSardanapall.”

Lydgate’sFall of Prynces, Boke ii. leaf L. ed. Wayland.

Page 162. v. 204.Egeas] Is mentioned with various other evil personages inThe Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy,

“Herod thy uthir eme, and gritEgeass.”Dunbar’sPoems, ii. 86. ed. Laing.

“Herod thy uthir eme, and gritEgeass.”

Dunbar’sPoems, ii. 86. ed. Laing.

and in the Second Part of Marlowe’sTamburlaine;

“The headstrong jades of Thrace Alcides tamed,That King Egeus fed with humane flesh.”Last sc. of act iv. sig. G 3. ed. 1606.

“The headstrong jades of Thrace Alcides tamed,That King Egeus fed with humane flesh.”

“The headstrong jades of Thrace Alcides tamed,

That King Egeus fed with humane flesh.”

Last sc. of act iv. sig. G 3. ed. 1606.

v. 205.Syr Pherumbras] See note, p. 178. v. 15.

v. 211.poll by poll] i. e. head by head,—one by one.

“And ye shall here the namespoll by poll.”Cocke Lorelles bote, sig. B ii.

“And ye shall here the namespoll by poll.”

Cocke Lorelles bote, sig. B ii.

v. 212.Arystobell] i. e. (I suppose) Aristobulus,—who, having succeeded his father Hyrcanus as high-priest and governor of Judea, assumed the title of king,—cast his mother into prison, and starved her to death,—caused his brother Antigonus to be assassinated,—anddied after reigning a year. See Prideaux’sConnect. Part ii. B. vi.

Page 162. v. 214.miscreantys] i. e. infidels. “These thre kynges were the fyrst ofmyscreauntesthat byleued on cryst.”The three kynges of Coleyne, sig. C ii. ed. 1526.

v. 216.Sowden] i. e. Soldan, Sultan.

v. 225.pekysh] See note, p. 129. v. 409.

v. 228.crokid] i. e. crooked.

v. 230.this] i. e. thus; as before, see v. 181.

——ouerthwarted] i. e. cavilled, wrangled. “To hafte orouerthwartein a matter, to wrangle.” Baret’sAlveariein v.

v. 231.proces] i. e. subject-matter; see notes, p. 143. v. 735. p. 146. v. 969. p. 194. v. 157.

Page 163. v. 233.loke] i. e. look.

v. 234.boke] i. e. book.

v. 239.rehers] i. e. tell, declare.

v. 240.sentence] i. e. meaning.

v. 241.scholys] i. e. schools.

v. 242.folys] i. e. fools.

v. 244.Dawcocke] See note, p. 113. v. 301.

Page 164. v. 249.fista] i. e. fist.

v. 250.you lista] i. e. you please.

v. 260.Dialetica] i. e. Dialectica.

v. 264.forica] Is Latin for a public jakes; and compare vv. 62, 183: but I cannot determine the meaning of it here.

v. 270.Jacke Harys] Must not be mistaken for the name of the person who called forth this piece; we have been already told that he “shall be nameless,” v. 38. So in our author’sMagnyfycence, Courtly Abusyon terms Cloked Colusyon “cankardJacke Hare.” v. 768. vol. i. 250. There is a poem by Lydgate (at least attributed to him) concerning a personage calledJak Hare, of which the first stanza is as follows:

“A froward knave plainly to discryveAnd a sluggard plainly to declareA precious knave that cast hym never to thryveHis mowth wele wet his slevis right thredebareA tourne broche a boy for wat of wareWith louryng face noddyng and slombryngOf newe cristened calledJak HareWhiche of a bolle can pluk out the lyneng.”MS. Harl.2251. fol. 14.

“A froward knave plainly to discryve

And a sluggard plainly to declare

A precious knave that cast hym never to thryve

His mowth wele wet his slevis right thredebare

A tourne broche a boy for wat of ware

With louryng face noddyng and slombryng

Of newe cristened calledJak Hare

Whiche of a bolle can pluk out the lyneng.”

MS. Harl.2251. fol. 14.

Since the above note was written, the ballad on Jack Hare hasbeen edited fromMS. Lansd.699. fol. 88. by Mr. Halliwell, among Lydgate’sMinor Poems, p. 52 (printed for thePercy Society). “The original of this,” says Mr. H. (p. 267), “is an Anglo-Norman poem of the 13th century, in MS. Digb. Oxon. 86. fol. 94, entitled ‘De Maimound mal esquier.’”

Page 164. v. 274.federis] i. e. feathers.

Page 165. v. 284.fisty] i. e. fist.

v. 290.Apostata] This form, as an English word, continued in use long after the time of Skelton.

v. 291.Nestorianus] “Nestorianiquidam heretici qui beatam mariam non dei, sed hominis dicunt genitricem.”Ortus Vocab.fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d.: but hereNestorianusseems to be put for Nestorius, the founder of the sect.

v. 300.This] i. e. Thus; as before, see v. 181.

v. 301.Dys church ye thus deprauyd] Todepravegenerally means—to vilify in words (as in our author’sColyn Cloute, “The Churche to depraue,” v. 515. vol. i. 330); but (and see the poemHowe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. v. 191. vol. ii. 73) heredeprauydmust be equivalent to—defiled.

v. 305.Concha] “Concharecensetur vulgo inter vasa ac ministeria sacra, cujus varii fuere usus.” Du Cange’sGloss.

v. 306.sonalia] i. e. the bells attached to the hawk’s feet.

Page 166. v. 313.

Et relis et ralis,Et reliqualis]

Et relis et ralis,

Et reliqualis]

Occurs again in our author’sGarlande of Laurell, v. 1216. vol. i. 410.

v. 315.Galis] i. e. Galicia.

v. 320.chalys] i. e. chalice.

v. 324.Masyd] i. e. Bewildered, confounded.

v. 325.styth] i. e. anvil.

v. 327.daw] i. e. simpleton; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

Page 167.Quod] i. e. Quoth.

v. 3.this] i. e. these.

v. 4.queed] i. e. evil. The word is common in our earliest poetry:

“That euer schuld haue don himqued.”Arthour and Merlin, p. 51. ed. Abbotsf.

“That euer schuld haue don himqued.”

Arthour and Merlin, p. 51. ed. Abbotsf.

trentale] i. e. properly, a service of thirty masses for the dead, usually celebrated on as many different days.

Page 170. v. 44.I faith, dikkon thou crue] See note, p. 115. v. 360.

v. 46.knauate] i. e. knave.

v. 47.rode] i. e. rood, cross; see note, p. 206. v. 69.

v. 53.fote ball] i. e. foot-ball.

Page 171. v. 61.Wit[h], hey, howe, rumbelowe] See note, p. 110. v. 252.

Page 172. v. 23.

Crudelisque Cacusbarathro, peto, sit tumulatus]

Crudelisque Cacus

barathro, peto, sit tumulatus]

To readers of Skelton’s days Cacus was known not so much from the 8th book of Virgil’sÆneid, as fromThe Recuyel of the Historyes of Troy, (a translation by Caxton from the French of Raoul le Fevre), where his story is related at considerable length, and with great variation from the classical fable: “In the cyte of Cartagene, a kynge and geant regned. named Cacus whiche was passyng euyll and full of tyrannye, and had slayn by his cursidnes the kynges of Aragon and of Nauerre. their wyues and their children And possessid her seignouryes and also helde in subieccion alle the contrey into ytaly,” &c. Book ii. ed. 1471—about the middle of the volume, which is printed without paging or signatures. His death is afterwards thus described: “But hercules ranne after and retayned hym And enbraced hym in his armes so harde that he myght not meue And brought hym agayn And bare hym vnto a depe pytte that was in the caue where he had caste in all ordures and filthe, hercules cam vnto this fowle pytte that the grekes had founden And planted cacus there Inne. his heed dounward from on hye vnto the ordure benethe, Than the ytaliens cam aboute the pitte and caste so many stones vpon hym that he deyde there myserably. Suche was the ende of the poure kynge Cacus. he deyde in an hooll full of ordure and of styngkynge filthe.”

v. 28.best] i. e. beast.

Page 173.Apud Trumpinton scriptum per Curatum ejusdem, &c.] A passage wrongly understood by Skelton’s biographers: seeAccount of his Life and Writings.

Page 174.

Diligo rustincum cum portant bis duo quointum,Et cantant delos est mihi dulce melos]

Diligo rustincum cum portant bis duo quointum,

Et cantant delos est mihi dulce melos]

The Rev. J. Mitford proposes to read—

Diligo rusticulum cum portat Dis duo quintum,Et cantat Delos, est mihi dulce melos:

Diligo rusticulum cum portat Dis duo quintum,

Et cantat Delos, est mihi dulce melos:

understandingduo quintumto mean decimum, a tenth or tithe, and explaining the whole, I like the peasant when he brings his tithe to Dis, and sings “Delos,”—pays it from motives of devotion.

In 1507, the city of Norwich was “almost utterly defaced” by two dreadful fires: the first broke out on 25th April, and lasted for four days; the second began 4th June, and continued for two days and a night. See Blomefield’sHist. of Norfolk, ii. 131. ed. fol.

Page 175.

Mortuus est asinus,Qui pinxit mulum]

Mortuus est asinus,

Qui pinxit mulum]

“Mulum de asino pingere, Dici potest, quando exemplar et res efficta non multum inter se distant; vel quando ineptiæ ineptiis repræsentantur, vel mendacia mendaciis astruuntur. Magna similitudo inter asinum et mulum est. Tertullianus. [Adv. Valent.cap. xix.].” ErasmiAdagia, p. 1663. ed. 1606.

Page 178. Henry the Seventh died April 21st, 1509, in the 24th year of his reign (see Sir H. Nicolas’sChron. of Hist.pp. 333, 350. sec. ed.), and in the 52d (according to some authorities, the 53d) year of his age; and was interred in the splendid chapel which bears his name.

“Here lieth buried in one of the stateliest Monuments of Europe, both for the Chappell, and for the Sepulchre, the body of Henry the seuenth.... This glorious rich Tombe is compassed about with verses, penned by that Poet Laureat (as he stiles himselfe) and Kings Orator, Iohn Skelton: I will take onely the shortest of his Epitaphs or Eulogiums, and most to the purpose.

Septimus hic situs est Henricus, gloria RegumCunctorum, ipsius qui tempestate fuerunt,Ingenio atque opibus gestarum et nomine rerum,Accessere quibus nature dona benigne:Frontis honos, facies augusta, heroica forma,Junctaque ei suauis coniux, perpulchra, pudica,Et fecunda fuit: felices prole parentes,Henricum quibus octauum terra Anglia debes.”Weever’sAnc. Fun. Mon., p. 476. ed. 1631.

Septimus hic situs est Henricus, gloria Regum

Cunctorum, ipsius qui tempestate fuerunt,

Ingenio atque opibus gestarum et nomine rerum,

Accessere quibus nature dona benigne:

Frontis honos, facies augusta, heroica forma,

Junctaque ei suauis coniux, perpulchra, pudica,

Et fecunda fuit: felices prole parentes,

Henricum quibus octauum terra Anglia debes.”

Weever’sAnc. Fun. Mon., p. 476. ed. 1631.

But the above lines are not in Marshe’s ed. of Skelton’sWorkes; nor are they assigned to him inReges, Reginæ, Nobiles, et alii in Ecclesia Collegiata B. Petri Westmonasterii sepulti, &c. 1603,—where they occur, sig. D.

——ad sinceram contemplationem reverendi in Christo patris acdomini, domini Johannis Islippæ abbatis Westmonasteriensis] So Skelton again in hisReplycacion, &c. “ad cujus auspicatissimamcontemplationem, sub memorabili prelo gloriosæ immortalitatis, præsens pagella felicitatur, &c.” vol. i. 206; and in hisGarlande of Laurell,—

“Of my ladys graceat the contemplacyoun,Owt of Frenshe into Englysshe prose,Of Mannes Lyfe the Peregrinacioun,He dyd translate,” &c.v. 1219. vol. i. 410.

“Of my ladys graceat the contemplacyoun,Owt of Frenshe into Englysshe prose,Of Mannes Lyfe the Peregrinacioun,He dyd translate,” &c.

“Of my ladys graceat the contemplacyoun,

Owt of Frenshe into Englysshe prose,

Of Mannes Lyfe the Peregrinacioun,

He dyd translate,” &c.

v. 1219. vol. i. 410.

Compare also Hollinshed; “At the contemplationof this cardinall, the king lent to the emperour a great summe of monie.”Chron.(Hen. viii.) vol. iii. 839. ed. 1587. Concerning the Abbot Islip, seeAccount of Skelton and his Writings.

Page 179. v. 19.sua] Used forejus.

——Leo candidior Rubeum necat ense Leonem]Leo candidior, i. e. the Earl of Surrey, whose badge was a White Lion:Rubeum Leonem, i. e. King James the Fourth, slain at Flodden, who bore the royal arms of Scotland, a Red Lion. See note on the poemAgainst the Scottes, p. 220. v. 135.

Page 181. v. 1.cuprum] i. e.cupreum. “The Tomb itself [principally of black marble], with the metal statues which lie upon it, and the beautiful casts inalto-relievo[of copper gilt], which ornament the sides, were executed by the celebrated Italian artist Pietro Torrigiano ... for the sum of 1500l.Its surrounding Screen, or ‘Closure’ [of gilt brass and copper], which is altogether in a different style of workmanship, though almost equally curious, was, most probably, both designed and wrought by English artizans.” Neale’sAccount of Henry the Seventh’s Chapel, pp. 54, 59.

The battle of Flodden, one of the most disastrous events in Scottish history, has been rendered so familiar to readers of our own day by the poem ofMarmion, that a particular account of it here is unnecessary. It took place on September 9th, 1513. The English army was commanded by the Earl of Surrey [created Duke of Norfolk the February following]; the Scottish by their rash and gallant monarch James the Fourth, who perished in the field amid heaps of his slaughtered nobles and gentlemen.

Page 182. v. 2.tratlynge] i. e. prattling, idle talk.

v. 5.Lo, these fonde sottes, &c.]—fonde, i. e. foolish. This passageresembles a rhyme made in reproach of the Scots in the reign of Edward the First:

“These scaterand ScottesHolde we for sottes,” &c.Fabyan’sChron.vol. ii. fol. 140. ed. 1559.

“These scaterand ScottesHolde we for sottes,” &c.

“These scaterand Scottes

Holde we for sottes,” &c.

Fabyan’sChron.vol. ii. fol. 140. ed. 1559.

Page 182. v. 11.Branxton more] i. e. Brankston Moor.

v. 12.stowre] Means generally—hardy, stout; here perhaps it is equivalent to—obstinate: but in Palsgrave we find “Stowreof conversationestourdy.”Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xcvi. (Table of Adiect.).

v. 22.closed in led] The body of James, disfigured with wounds, was found the day after the battle; it was carried to Berwick, and ultimately interred in the priory of Shene: see Weaver’sAnc. Fun. Mon., p. 394. ed. 1631. After the dissolution of that house, according to Stow’s account, the body, enclosed in lead, was thrown into one of the lumber-rooms; and the head, which some workmen hewed off “for their foolish pleasure,” was brought to London and buried in St. Michael’s Church, Wood Street:Survey, B. iii. 81. ed. 1720.

Page 183. v. 26.byllys] i. e. bills,—a sort of beaked pikes,—battle-axes.

v. 30.Folys and sottys] i. e. Fools and sots.

v. 32.crake] i. e. vaunt.

v. 33.To face, to brace] So Borde in hisBoke of knowlegeintroduces a Scotchman saying,

“I wyll boost my selfe, I wyllcrake and face.”Sig. G 2. reprint.

“I wyll boost my selfe, I wyllcrake and face.”

Sig. G 2. reprint.

Compare our author’sMagnyfycence;

“Cl. Col. By God, I tell you, I wyll not beout facyd.By the masse, I warant thé, I wyll not bebracyd.”v. 2247. vol. i. 299.

“Cl. Col. By God, I tell you, I wyll not beout facyd.By the masse, I warant thé, I wyll not bebracyd.”

“Cl. Col. By God, I tell you, I wyll not beout facyd.

By the masse, I warant thé, I wyll not bebracyd.”

v. 2247. vol. i. 299.

and hisGarlande of Laurell;

“Somefacers, somebracers, some make great crackis.”v. 189. vol. i. 369.

“Somefacers, somebracers, some make great crackis.”

v. 189. vol. i. 369.

In HormanniVulgariawe find, “Hefaceththe matter, and maketh great crakes.Tragice loquitur, et ampullosa verba proiicit.” Sig. P iiii. ed. 1530. “He is not aferde toface or bracewith any man of worshyp. Nullius viri magnitudinemallatraredubitat.” Sig. O ii. And in Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530, “Ifaceas one dothe that brauleth or falleth out with a nother to make hym a frayde,Ie contrefays des mines... I dare nat passe by his dore hefaceth and bracethme so: ...il contrefait tellement des mines.”fol. ccxxx. (Table of Verbes). “IBraceorface,Ie braggue. Hebracedand madea bracynghere afore the dore as thoughe he wolde haue kylled....Il braggoyt,” &c. fol. clxxi. (Table of Verbes).

Page 183. v. 36.ouerthwart] i. e. cross, perverse, wrangling.

v. 41.quayre] i. e. quire,—pamphlet, book.

v. 51.sumner] i. e. summoner (it generally meant what we now call apparitor).

v. 52.greyth] i. e. agreeth, suiteth.

v. 53.Our kynge of Englande for to syght]—syght, i. e. cite. While Henry viii. was encamped before Terouenne, James iv. sent his chief herald to him, with a letter (which may be found in Hall’sChron.(Hen. viii.), fol. xxix. ed. 1548), reckoning up the various injuries and insults he had received from Henry, and containing what amounted to a declaration of war, unless the English monarch should desist from hostilities against the French king.

Page 184. v. 57.kynge Koppynge] Compare theColiphizacio, where Cayphas exclaims—

“Therfor I shalle the name that ever shalle rew the,Kyng Copynin oure game,” &c.Towneley Mysteries, p. 194,—

“Therfor I shalle the name that ever shalle rew the,Kyng Copynin oure game,” &c.

“Therfor I shalle the name that ever shalle rew the,

Kyng Copynin oure game,” &c.

Towneley Mysteries, p. 194,—

the Glossary informing us that “A coppin is a certain quantity of worsted yarn wound on a spindle, and the spindle then extracted,”—which may be true, though it does not explain the passage. Some game must be alluded to.

v. 59.Hob Lobbyn of Lowdean] So again our author inSpeke, Parrot;

“Hop Lobyn of Lowdeonwald haue e byt of bred.”v. 74. vol. ii. 5.

“Hop Lobyn of Lowdeonwald haue e byt of bred.”

v. 74. vol. ii. 5.

Perhaps there is an allusion to some song or ballad:Lowdeanis, I apprehend, Lothian.

v. 60.what good ye can] See note, p. 190. v. 23.

v. 61.Locrian] i. e. Loch Ryan—a large bay in Wigtonshire, which by approximating to the bay of Luce, forms the peninsula called the Rinns of Galloway. It is mentioned by Barbour;

“And atLochrianein GallowayHe schippyt, with all his menye.”The Bruce, B. xi. v. 36. ed. Jam.

“And atLochrianein GallowayHe schippyt, with all his menye.”

“And atLochrianein Galloway

He schippyt, with all his menye.”

The Bruce, B. xi. v. 36. ed. Jam.

In the poemHowe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. Skelton speaks of the Scots

“OfLocryan,And the ragged rayOfGalaway.”v. 21. vol. ii. 68.

“OfLocryan,And the ragged rayOfGalaway.”

“OfLocryan,

And the ragged ray

OfGalaway.”

v. 21. vol. ii. 68.

and in his verses against Dundas, he calls him

“Dundas ofGalaway.”v. 29. vol. i. 193.

“Dundas ofGalaway.”

v. 29. vol. i. 193.

See too v. 109 of the present poem. Our author uses Scottish names at random.

Page 184. v. 62.sence] i. e. cense.

v. 63.Saint Ionis towne] i. e. Perth. Compare Langtoft’sChronicle, p. 333. ed. Hearne; Minot’sPoems, p. 6. ed. Ritson; and Barbour’sBruce, B. ii. v. 53. ed. Jam. It is said that the Picts, after their conversion to Christianity, or the Scots, after their king had succeeded to the Pictish throne, consecrated the church and bridge of Perth to St. John the Baptist; and that hence in process of time many persons gave to the town the name of St. Johnston: see Jamieson’s note on the passage last referred to.

v. 72.tragedy] See note, p. 194. v. 155.

v. 79.enbybe] i. e. wet.

v. 83.Irysh keteringes]—Irysh, i. e. Highlanders and Islesmen:

“Than gert he all theIrscheryThat war in till his cumpany,Off Arghile, and the Ilis alsua,” &c.Barbour’sBruce, B. xiii. v. 233. ed. Jam.

“Than gert he all theIrscheryThat war in till his cumpany,Off Arghile, and the Ilis alsua,” &c.

“Than gert he all theIrschery

That war in till his cumpany,

Off Arghile, and the Ilis alsua,” &c.

Barbour’sBruce, B. xiii. v. 233. ed. Jam.

—keteringes(see Jamieson’sEt. Dict. of Scot. Lang.in v.Cateranes), i. e. marauders who carried off cattle, corn, &c.

Page 185. v. 86.armony] i. e. harmony.

v. 89.me adres] i. e. apply myself.

v. 90.proces] i. e. story; see notes, p. 143. v. 735. p. 146. v. 969. p. 194. v. 157. p. 211. v. 231.

v. 91.Jocky my jo] Perhaps a fragment of some song or ballad. In Scotch,Jockyis the diminutive ofJock, the abbreviation ofJohn:jois sweetheart, dear, (joy.)

v. 92.summond] See note on v. 53, preceding page.

v. 97.to] i. e. too.

v. 98.harrold] i. e. herald: see note on v. 53.

v. 100.pye] i. e. magpie.

v. 101.Syr skyrgalyard] So again our author in hisSpeke, Parrot;

“With,skyregalyard, prowde palyard, vaunteperler, ye prate.”v. 427. vol. ii. 21.

“With,skyregalyard, prowde palyard, vaunteperler, ye prate.”

v. 427. vol. ii. 21.

and in his poemHowe the douty Duke of Albany, &c.;

“Suche askyrgaliarde.”v. 168. vol. ii. 73.

“Suche askyrgaliarde.”

v. 168. vol. ii. 73.

“William Johnstone of Wamphray, called theGalliard, was a noted freebooter.... Hisnom de guerreseems to have been derived from the dance calledThe Galliard. The word is still used in Scotlandto express an active, gay, dissipated character.” Scott’sMinst. of the Scott. Bord.i. 305. ed. 1810. Toskir(under which Richardson in hisDict.cites Skelton’s term “a skyrgaliarde”) is to scour, to move rapidly.

Page 185. v. 101.skyt] i. e. hasty, precipitate.

v. 103.layd] “ILayefor me or alledge to make my mater good.” Palsgrave’sLesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cclxxv. (Table of Verbes).

v. 104.not worth a fly] A common expression in our early poetry;

“The goos saide then al thisnys worth a file.”Chaucer’sAss. of Foules,—Workes, fol. 235. ed. 1602.

“The goos saide then al thisnys worth a file.”

Chaucer’sAss. of Foules,—Workes, fol. 235. ed. 1602.

v. 106.brother] James married Margaret sister of Henry the Eighth.

v. 109.Gup] See note, p. 99. v. 17.

——Syr Scot of Galawey] See note on v. 61. p. 217.

v. 110.fall] i. e. fallen.

v. 111.Male vryd] i. e. ill-fortuned (Fr.malheur).

Page 186. v. 117.Scipione] i. e. Scipio.

v. 119.Thoughe ye vntruly your father haue slayne] James iii. was slain by a ruffian whose name is not certainly known, under circumstances of great atrocity, in 1488, in a miller’s cottage, immediately after his flight from the battle of Sauchie-burn, where his son (then in his 17th year) had appeared in arms against him. The mind of James iv. was haunted by remorse for his father’s death; and he wore in penance an iron girdle, the weight of which he every year increased.

v. 121.Dunde, Dunbar] Scottish names used at random: so again in our author’s verses against Dundas, “Dunde, Dunbar,” v. 60. vol. i. 194; and in his poemHowe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. “Dunbar, Dunde,” v. 24. vol. ii. 68.

v. 122.Pardy] i. e.par dieu, verily.

v. 124.shent] i. e. destroyed, brought to disgrace or punishment.

v. 128.checkmate] See note, p. 96. v. 29.

v. 129.the castell of Norram] In taking the Castle of Norham, James wasted some days, previous to the battle of Flodden, while he ought to have employed his forces in more important enterprises.

v. 130.to sone] i. e. too soon.

v. 132.bylles] See note on v. 26. p. 216.

v. 133.Agaynst you gaue so sharpe a shower]Showeris often applied by our old writers to the storm, assault, encounter of battle:

“Thesharpe shouresand the cruel rageAbyde fully of this mortall werre.”Lydgate’sWarres of Troy, B. iv. sig. Y iiii. ed. 1555.

“Thesharpe shouresand the cruel rageAbyde fully of this mortall werre.”

“Thesharpe shouresand the cruel rage

Abyde fully of this mortall werre.”

Lydgate’sWarres of Troy, B. iv. sig. Y iiii. ed. 1555.

“He was slawe ynsharpe showre.”Kyng Roberd of Cysylle,—MS. Harl.1701. fol. 94.

“He was slawe ynsharpe showre.”

Kyng Roberd of Cysylle,—MS. Harl.1701. fol. 94.

and see our author’s poemHowe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. v. 240. vol. ii. 75.

Page 186. v. 135.

The Whyte Lyon, there rampaunt of moode,He ragyd and rent out your hart bloode;He the Whyte, and ye the Red]

The Whyte Lyon, there rampaunt of moode,

He ragyd and rent out your hart bloode;

He the Whyte, and ye the Red]

The White Lion was the badge of the Earl of Surrey, derived from his ancestors the Mowbrays. His arms were Gules, on a bend between six cross croslets, fitchy, argent: after the battle of Flodden, the king granted to him “an honourable augmentation of his arms, to bearon the bend thereof:in an escutcheon Or, a demi Lion rampant, pierced through the mouth with an arrow, within a double tressure flory and counterflory Gules; which tressure is the same as surrounds the royal arms of Scotland.” Collins’sPeerage, i. 77. ed. Brydges.

“If Scotlands Coat no marke of Fame can lend,That Lyon plac’d in our bright siluer-bend,Which as a Trophy beautifies our shield,Since Scottish bloud discoloured Floden-Field;When the proud Cheuiot our braue Ensigne bare,As a rich Jewell in a Ladies haire,And did faire Bramstons neighbouring vallies chokeWith clouds of Canons fire-disgorged smoke.”Epistle from H. Howard Earle of Surrey to Geraldine,—Drayton’sPoems, p. 86 [88], ed. 8vo. n. d.

“If Scotlands Coat no marke of Fame can lend,

That Lyon plac’d in our bright siluer-bend,

Which as a Trophy beautifies our shield,

Since Scottish bloud discoloured Floden-Field;

When the proud Cheuiot our braue Ensigne bare,

As a rich Jewell in a Ladies haire,

And did faire Bramstons neighbouring vallies choke

With clouds of Canons fire-disgorged smoke.”

Epistle from H. Howard Earle of Surrey to Geraldine,—Drayton’sPoems, p. 86 [88], ed. 8vo. n. d.

“George Buchanan reporteth that the Earle of Surrey gaue for his badge a Siluer Lion, which from Antiquitie belonged to that name, tearing in pieces a Lion prostrate Gules; and withall, that this which hee termes insolence, was punished in Him and his Posteritie,” &c. Drayton’s note on the preceding passage.

——the Red] The royal arms of Scotland.

v. 139.quyt] i. e. requited.

v. 141.swete Sainct George, our ladies knyght] “Our Lady’s knight” is the common designation of St. George: so in a song written about the same time as the present poem,Cott. MS. Domit.A. xviii. fol. 248; inSir Beues of Hamtoun, p. 102. Maitl. ed. &c. &c.

Page 186. v. 144.His grace beyng out of the way] i. e. Henry the Eighth being in France: see note on v. 53. p. 217.

v. 148.ye lost your sworde] The sword and dagger, worn by James at the battle of Flodden, are preserved in the college of Heralds. An engraving of them is prefixed to Weber’s ed. of the poem,Flodden Field.

Page 187. v. 149.buskyd] i. e. hied.

——Huntley bankys] So again in our author’s verses against Dundas;

“That prates and prankesOnHuntley bankes.”v. 57. vol. i. 194.

“That prates and prankesOnHuntley bankes.”

“That prates and prankes

OnHuntley bankes.”

v. 57. vol. i. 194.

and in hisWhy come ye not to Courte;

“They [the Scottes] play their olde pranckesAfterHuntley bankes.”v. 263. vol. ii. 35.

“They [the Scottes] play their olde pranckesAfterHuntley bankes.”

“They [the Scottes] play their olde pranckes

AfterHuntley bankes.”

v. 263. vol. ii. 35.

and in his poemHowe the douty Duke of Albany, &c.;

“Of the Scottes rankeOfHuntley banke.”v. 18. vol. ii. 68.

“Of the Scottes rankeOfHuntley banke.”

“Of the Scottes ranke

OfHuntley banke.”

v. 18. vol. ii. 68.

Here again Skelton uses a Scottish name at random. TheHuntly-bank, where, according to the charming old poem, Thomas the Rhymer met the Queen of Faery, is situated on one of the Eldoun hills.

v. 153.

Of the kyng of Nauerne ye might take heed,Vngraciously how he doth speed:In double delynge so he did dreme,That he is kynge without a reme;And, for example ye would none take, &c.]

Of the kyng of Nauerne ye might take heed,

Vngraciously how he doth speed:

In double delynge so he did dreme,

That he is kynge without a reme;

And, for example ye would none take, &c.]

—reme, i. e. realm. In a letter despatched from the camp before Terouenne, in answer to the epistle of the Scottish king (see note on v. 53. p. 217), Henry says; “And yfthe example of the kyng of Nauarrebeynge excluded from his royalme for assistence gyuen to the Frenche kyng cannot restrayne you from this vnnaturall dealynge, we suppose ye shall haue lyke assistence of the sayde Frenche kynge as the kyng of Nauarre hath nowe:Who is a kynge withoute a realme, &c.” Hall’sChron.(Henry viii.) fol. xxxi. ed. 1548. James, however, never received this letter: he was slain before the herald who bore it could procure a passage from Flanders.

v. 158.brake] See note, p. 168. v. 324.

v. 161.Your beard so brym as bore at bay]—brym, i. e. fierce,—rugged, bristly. James wore “his Beerde somethynge longe.” LelandiCollect.iv. 285. ed. 1770.

v. 162.Your Seuen Systers, that gun so gay] Lindsay of Pitscottie informs us that when James was making preparations for hisfatal expedition against England “he had sewin great cannones out of the castle of Edinburgh, quhilkis was called theSewin Sisteris, castin be Robert Borthik; and thrie maister gunneris, furnisched with pouder and leid to thame at thair pleasure.”Cron. of Scotl.i. 266. ed. 1814. These canons were namedSistersbecause they were all of the same great size and fine fabric. Concerning Borthwick, master of the artillery to James, the following mention is made by Lesley: “Rex amplo stipendio Robertum Borthuik, insignem tormenti fabricandi artificem donauit, vt tormenta bellica maiora in arce Edinburgensi aliquamdiu conflaret: quorum permulta hodie in Scotia reperiuntur, hoc versu incisa:

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