Sendaument, p. 284. 126. [Appearance. The word has no authority; B. and K. are silent.]
Sete, Æ. 1069.Seat.
Shappe, T. 36.Fate. C.
Shap-scurged, Æ. 603.Fate-scourged. C.
Shemring, E. II. 14.Glimmering. C.
Shente, T. 157.Broke, destroyed. C.
Shepen, p. 283. 97. [Simple, from K.'s shepen (O.),simple, fearful.]
Shepstere, E. I. 6.Shepherd. C.
Shoone-pykes, p. 280. 44.Shoes with piked toes. The length of the pikes was restrained to two inches, by 3 Edw. 4. c. 5.
Shrove, H. 2. 432. [It is difficult to discover the probable sense of this word. Perhaps an allusion to an imaginary legend is intended; cf. the reference (H. 2. 417) to Conyan's goats. Sk. has a note 'Shroveis the Rowleian forshrouded'; this is possible but hardly convincing.]
[Slea, Æ. 18.Slay.]
[Sleeve, H. 1. 178.Silk not yet twisted, floss.]
Sletre, Æ. 539.Slaughter.
Slughornes, E. II. 9.A musical instrument not unlike a hautboy.C.—T. 31. A kind of clarion. C.
Smethe, T. 101.Smoke. C.
Smething, E. I. 1.Smoking. C.
Smore, H. 1. 412. [?SmearedorSmothered.]
Smothe, Ch. 35.Steam or vapours. C.
Snett, T. 45.Bent. C.
[Sorgie, G. 17.Surging.]
Sothen, Æ. 227.Sooth, q?
Souten, H. 1. 252. forSought. pa. t. sing. q?
Sparre, H. 1. 26.A wooden bar.
Speckle, H. 2. 525. [?Spied, or perhapsReached.]
Spencer, T. 11.Dispenser. C.
Spere, Æ. 69. [Spare, allow.]
Spyryng, Æ. 707.Towering.
Staie, H. 1. 198. [B. has Stay,stop, let, hindrance; so possibly C. uses it as a paraphrase forarmour; or some special piece of armour may be meant.]
Starks, T. 73.Stalks.
[Steeked, Æ. 1188. Not in K. B. or Speght, but Sk. notes that C. hassteeked=stole; so here the sense would bestole upon.]
Steeres, p. 25. 6.Stairs.
Stente, T. 134.Stained. C.
Steynced, Æ. 189. [?Stinted, from B.'s stent (Saxon),stint.]
Storthe, p. 287. 10. [Death; cf.Storven.]
Storven, Æ. 608.Dead. C.
Straughte, Æ. 59.Stretched. C.
[Stre, H. 2. 712.Straw.]
Stret, Æ. 158.Stretch. C.
Strev, Æ. 358.Strive.
Stringe, G. 10.Strong. C.
Suffycyl, Æ. 62. 981. [Sufficient.]
[Swanges, Ch. 210.Swings.]
Swarthe, Æ. 265. [Aswath, orswarth(so rarely, but cf.Twelfth Night, II. iii, where Maria calls Malvolio 'an affectioned ass, that cons state without book and utters it by great swarths') is as much hay as the mower can cut at one movement of the scythe. So, an unsubstantial thing compared with aboddekin.]
Swartheing, Æ. 295 [Darkling,darkening.]
Swarthless. II. 2. 563. [Dark-less, i.e.pallid.]
Sweft-kervd, E. II. 20.Short-liv'd. C.
Swoltering, Æ. 444. [?Swallowing.]
[Swote, E. I. 25.Sweet. C.]
Swotie, E. II. 9.Sweet. C.
Swythe, Swythen, Swythyn;Quickly. C.
Syke, E. II. 6.Such, so. C.
Takelle. T. 72.Arrow. C.
[Talbot, H. 2. 89.A kind of hunting dog(K.);a dog with a turned-up tail(B.).]
Teint, H. 1. 462. forTent. [Bandage.]
Tende, T. 113.Attend, or wait. C.
Tene, Æ 366.Sorrow.
Tentyflie, E. III. 48.Carefully. C.
Tere, Æ 194.Health. C.
Thoughten, Æ 172. 1136. forThought, pa. t. sing. q?
[Thraslarkes, H. 2. 427. Presumably a kind of lark. K.B. and Speght give no help.]
Thyghte, p. 283. 104. [II. 2. 578.Well-built.]
Thyssen, E. II. 87.These, orthose. q?
Tochelod, Æ 205. [Perhaps a mistake forTochered= dowered. (Sk.)]
Tore, Æ 1020.Torch. C.
Trechit, H. 2. 93. forTreget; Deceit.
Treynted, Æ 454. [?Scatter, from K.'s Betreint (O.),sprinkled.]
Twyghte, E. II. 78.Plucked, pulled. C.
Twytte, E. I. 2.Pluck, or pull. C.
Tynge, Tyngue;Tongue.
Val, T. 138.Helm. C.
Vernage, H. 2. II.VernacciaItal. a sort of rich wine.
Ugsomeness, Æ. 507.Terror. C.
Ugsomme, E. II. 55.Terribly. C.—Æ. 303.Terrible. C.
[Virgyne, Ch. I. The sign of the zodiac,Virgo, which the sun enters about the 21st of August.]
Unaknell'd, H. 1. 288.Without any knell rung for them.q? [unaknelledwas Pope's reading ofunancaledin his edition ofHamlet.]
Unburled, Æ. 1186.Unarmed. C.
Uncted, M. 30.Anointed. C.
Undelievre, G. 27.Unactive. C.
Unenhantend, Æ. 636.Unaccustomed. C.
Unespryte, G. 27.Unspirited. C.
[Uneyned, E. 516.Blinded.]
Unhailie, Ch. 85.Unhappy. C.
Unliart, P.G. 4.Unforgiving. C.
Unlift, E. III. 86.Unbounded. C.
Unlored, Ep. 25.Unlearned. C.
Unlydgefull, Æ. 537. [Disloyal.]
Unplayte, G. 86.—Unplyte, Æ. 1238.Explain. C.
Unquaced, E. III. 90.Unhurt. C.
[Unryghte. See Note I.]
Unsprytes, Æ. 1212.Un-souls. C.
Untentyff, G. 79.Uncareful, neglected. C.
Unthylle, T. 30.Useless. C.
Unwer, E. III. 87.Tempest. C.
Volunde, Æ. 73.Memory, understanding. C.—G. 140.Will. C.
Upriste, Æ. 928.Risen. C.
Upryne, H. 2. 719. [?Raise up, from B.'s uprist,uprisen, risen up.]
Upswalynge, Æ. 258.Swelling. C.
Walsome, H. 2. 92.Wlatsome; loathsome.
Wanhope, G. 34.Despair. C.
Waylde, Æ. 11.Choice, selected.
Waylinge, E. II. 68.Decreasing. C. [Wayled (O.),grown old(K.).]
Wayne, E. III. 31.Car. C.
Weere, Æ. 835.Grief. C.
Welked, E. III. 50.Withered. C.
Welkyn, Æ. 1055.Heaven. C.
[Whaped, H. 2. 579.Amazed, from K.'s Awhaped (O.)amazed.]
Wiseegger, E. III. 8.A philosopher. C. [But used by C. as an adjective.]
Wissen, Æ. 685.Wish.
Wite, G. 176.Reward. C.
Withe, E. III. 36. A contraction ofWither. C.
[Wolfynn, T. 51. &c.Wolf. Not in K. B. or Speght.]
Wolsome, Le. 5. SeeWalsome.
Wraytes. SeeReytes.
Wrynn, T. 117.Declare. C.
Wurche, Æ. 500.Work. C.
Wychencref, Æ. 420.Witchcraft.
Wyere, E. II. 79.Grief, trouble. C.
Wympled, G. 207.Mantled, covered. C.
Wynnynge, Æ. 219. [The sense is 'which my father's hall had no winning,' i.e. 'which I could never get in my father's hall.' Sk. is almost certainly wrong here.]
Yan, Æ. 72.Than.
Yaped, Ep. 30.Laughable. C.
Yatte, T. 9.That. C.
Yblente, Æ. 40.Blinded. C.
Ybroched, G. 96.Horned. C.
[Ybrogten, Æ. 919.Brought]
Ycorne, Æ. 374. [Contracted forycorven.]
Ycorven, T. 170.To mould. C.
[Ycrase, p. 287. 16.Break.]
Yceasedd, T. 132.Broken. C.
Yenne;Then.
Yer, E. II. 29.Their.
Yer, Æ. 152.Your.
Ygrove, H. 2. 434. [?Shaped, fory-graven.]
Yinder, Æ. 692.Yonder.
Yis;This.
Ylach'd, H. 2. 436. [?Concealed. B. has Lach,catchorsnatch; but this is hardly to the point.]
Ynhyme, Ent. 5.Inter. C.
Ynutile, Æ. 198.Useless.
Yreaden, H. 2. 207. [Ready.]
Yroughte, H. 2. 318. forYwroughte.
Ysped, M. 102.Dispatched. C.
Yspende, T. 179.Consider. C.
Ystorven, E. I. 53.Dead. C.
Ytfel, E. I. 18.Itself.
Ywreen, E. II. 30.Covered. C.
Ywrinde, M. 100.Hid, covered. C.
Yyne, Æ. 540.Thine.
Zabalus, Æ. 428. asSabalus; the Devil.
Tum levis haud ultra latebras jam quærit imago, Sed sublime volansnocti se immiscuit atræ.
APPENDIX, &c.
When these Poems were first printed, it was thought best to leave the question of their authenticity to the determination of the impartial Public. The Editor contented himself with intimating his opinion, [Pref. p. xii, xiii.] that the external evidence on both sides was so defective as to deserve but little attention, and that the final decision of the question must depend upon the internal evidence. To shew that this opinion was not thrown out in order to mislead the enquiries and judgements of the readers, I have here drawn togethersome observations uponTHE LANGUAGE[1]of the poems attributed to Rowley, which, I think, will be sufficient to prove, 1st, that they were not written in the XV Century; and 2dly, that they were written entirely by Thomas Chatterton.
The proof of the second proposition would in effect carry with it that of the first; but, notwithstanding. I choose to treat them separately and to begin with the first.
I shall premise only onepostulatum, which is, that Poets of the same age and country use the same language, allowances being made for certain varieties, which may arise from the local situation, the rank in life, the learning, the affectation of the writers, and from the different subjects and forms of their compositions [2].
This being granted, I have nothing to do but to prove, that the language of the poems attributed to Rowley (when every proper allowance has been made) is totally different from that of the other English writers of the XV Century, in many material particulars. It would be too tedious to go through them all; and therefore I shall only take notice of such as can be referred to three general heads; thefirstconsisting of words not used by any other writer; thesecond, of words used by other writers, but in a different sense; and thethird, of words inflected in a manner contrary to grammar and custom.
Under thefirsthead I would recommend the following words to the reader's consideration.
1. ABESSIE. E. III. 89.Whylest the congeon flowretteabessiedyghte.
2. ABORNE. T. 45.Snett oppe hys long strunge bowe and sheeldeaborne.
3. ABREDYNGE. Æ 334.Agylted Ælla, thieabredyngeblynge.
4. ACROOLE. El. 6.Didde spekeacroole, wythe languishment of eyne.
5. ADAVE. H. 2. 392.The fynest dame the Sun or moonadave.
6. ADENTE. Æ 396. ADENTED. G. 32. Ontoe thie veste the rodde sonne ysadente.Adentedprowess to the gite of witte.
7. ADRAMES. Ep. 27.Loughe loudlie dynneth from the dolteadrames.
8. ALATCHE. Æ 117.Leave me swythe or I'llealatche.
9. ALMER. Ch. 20.Where from the hail-stone coulde thealmerflie?
10. ALUSTE. H. 1. 88.That Alured coulde not hymselfaluste.
11. ALYNE. T. 79.Wythe murther tyred he flynges hys bowealyne.
12. ALYSE. Le. 29.—G. 180.Somme dryblette share you shoulde to thatalyse.Fulle twentie mancas I wylle theealise.
13. ANERE. Æ 15.—Ep. 48.And cann I lyve to see herr wytheanere?——Adieu untylleanere.
14. ANETE. p. 281. 64.Whych yn the blosom woulde such sinsanete.
15. APPLINGS. E. I. 33.Mie tendreapplyngesand embodyde trees.
16. ARROW-LEDE. H. 1. 74.Han by his soundyngearrowe-ledebene sleyne.
17. ASENGLAVE. H. 1. 117.But Harold'sasenglavestopp'd it as it flewe.
18. ASLEE. Æ 504.That doestasleealonge ynn doled dystresse.
19. ASSWAIE. Æ 352.Botte thos to leave thee, Birtha, dotheasswaieMoe torturynge peynes, &c.
20. ASTENDE. G. 47.Acheke the mokie aire and heavenastende.
I stop here, not because the other Letters of the alphabet would not afford a proportionable number of words which might be referred to this head, but because I think these sufficient for my purpose. I proceed therefore to set down an equal number of words under thesecondgeneral head.
His cristede beaver dyd him smalleabounde.
The common sense ofAbound, a verb, is well known; but what can be the meaning of it here?
Lette notte thie agreme blyn nealedgestonde.
Aledge, orAlege, v. Fr. in Chaucer signifiesto alleviate. It is here used either as an adjective or as an adverb. Chatterton interprets it to meanidly; upon what ground I cannot guess.
3. ALL A BOON. E. III. 41.—p. 23. l. 4.
All-a-boon, fyr Priest,all-a-boon. Thys ys the onelieall-a-booneI crave.
Here are three English words, the sense of which, taken separately, is clear. As joined together in this passage they are quite unintelligible.
Mie sonne, mie sonnealleynystorven ys.
Grantingalleynto be rightly put for alone, no ancient writer, I apprehend, ever used such a phrase as this; any more than we should now say—my son aloneformy only son. 5. ASCAUNCE. E. III. 52.
Lokeyngeascaunceupon the naighboure greene.
The usual sense ofascauncein Chaucer, and other old writers, has been explained in a note on ver. 7327. of the Canterbury Tales. It is used in the same sense by Gascoigne. The more modern adverbascaunce, signifyingsideways, obliquely, is derived from the Italiana schiancio, and I doubt very much whether it had been introduced into the English language in the time of the supposed Rowley.
——You have theyr wortheasterte.
I despair of finding any authorized sense of the wordasterte, that will suit this passage. It cannot, I think, signifieneglected or passed by, as Chatterton has rendered it.
7. AUMERE. Æ. 398.—Ch. 7. AUMERES. E. III. 25.
Depycte wyth skylled honde upponn thie wydeaumere.And eke the grounde was dighte in its mose desteaumere.Wythe geltenaumeresstronge ontolde.
The only place in which I remember to have met with this word is in Chaucer's Romant of the Rose, ver. 2271. and there it undoubtedly signifiesa purse; probably from the Fr.Aumoniere. Aumere of silkis Chaucer's translation ofBourse de foye. In another place of the same poem, ver. 2087. he usesaumenerin the same sense. The interpretations given of this word by Chatterton will be considered below.
Nott, whan from thebarbedhorse, &c.Mie lord fadre'sbarbdehalle han ne wynnynge.
Let it be allowed, thatbarbed horsewas a proper expression, in the XV Century, fora horse covered with armour, can any one conceive thatbarbed hallsignifieda hall in which armour was hung? or what other sense canbarbdehave in this passage?
Whanne Autumpneblakeand sonne-brente doe appere.Blakestondeth future doome, and joie doth mee alyse.
Blake, in old English, may signifie eitherblack, orbleak. Chatterton, in both these passages, renders itnaked; and, in the latter, some such signification seems absolutely necessary to make any sense.
And for abodykinaswartheobteyne.
Bodekinis used by Chaucer more than once to signifie abodkinordagger. I know not that it had any other signification in his time.Swarthe, used as a noun, has no sense that I am acquainted with.
Goe serche the logges andbordelsof the hynde.We wylle in abordellelyve.Hailie the robber and thebordelyer.
Thoughbordel, in very old French, signifies acottage, andbordelieracottager, Chaucer uses the first word in no other sense than that ofbrothelorbawdy-house; andbordellerwith him means the keeper of such a house. After this usage of these words was so established, it is not easy to believe that any later writer would hazard them in their primitive sense.
Roaringe and rolleyng on yn coursebysmare.
Bismare, in Chaucer, signifiesabusive speech; nor do I believe that it ever had any other signification.
Wee better for to doe dochampyonanie onne.
I do not believe thatchampionwas used as a verb by any writer much earlier than Shakespeare.
——Icontakethie waie.Contekethe dynnynge ayre and reche the skies.
Contekeis used by Chaucer, as anoun, forContention. I know no instance of its being used as averb.
15. DERNE. Æ 582. DERNIE. E. I. 19. El. 8. M. 106.
Whan thou didst boaste soe moche of actyonderne.Oh Raufe, comme lyste and hear miedernietale.O gentle Juga, beare miedernieplainte.He wrythde arounde yn dreariederniepayne.
Derneis a Saxon adj. signifyingsecret, private, in which sense it is used more than once by Chaucer, and in no other.
16. DROORIE. Ep. 47.
Botte lette ne wordes, whichedrooriemote ne heare,Bee placed in the same ——.
The only sense that I know ofdruerieiscourtship, gallantry, which will not suit with this passage.
Decorn wythfonnesrare ——On of thefonniswhych the clerche have made.Quayntyssedfonsdepictedd on eche sheelde.
Afonnein Chaucer signifies afool, andfonnes—fools; and Spenser usesfonin the same sense; nor do I believe that it ever had any other meaning.
Theyre myghte ysknoppedynne the froste of fere.
Knoppedis used by Chaucer to signifiefastenedwith a button, fromknoppe, a button; but what poet, that knew the meaning of his words, would say that any thing was buttoned withfrost?
19. LECTURN. Le. 46.
An onlistlecturnand a songe adygne.
I do not see thatlecturncan possibly signifie any thing buta reading-desk, in which sense it is used by Chaucer.
20. LITHIE. Ep. 10.
Innelithiemoncke apperes the barronnes pryde.
If there be any such word as this, we should naturally expect it to follow the signification oflithe; soft, limber: which will not suit with this passage.
* * * * *
I go on to thethirdgeneral head of words inflected contrary to grammar and custom. In a language like ours, in which the inflections are so few and so simple, it is not to be supposed that a writer, even of the lowest class, would commit very frequent offences of this sort. I shall take notice of some, which I think impossible to have fallen from a genuine Rowley.
Fierce as aclevisfrom a rocke ytorne.
Clevisorclevesis the plural number ofCleve, a cliff. It is so used by Chaucer. I cannot believe that it was ever used as a singular noun.
EYNE. E. II. 79. T. 169. See also Æ 681.
In evericheynearedynge nete of wyere.Wythe syke aneyneshee swotelie hymm dydd view.
Eyne, a contraction ofeyen, is the plural number ofeye. It is not more probable that an ancient writer should have used the expressions here quoted, than that any one now should say—Inevery eyes;—With such an eyes.
HEIE. E. II. 15. T. 123. Le. 5. 9. Ent. 2. Æ 355.
Heie, the old plural ofHe, was obsolete, I apprehend, in the time of the supposed Rowley. At least it is very improbable that the same writer, at any time, should useheieandtheieindifferently, as in these poems.
Lettethyssenmenne, who haveth sprite of love.
I cannot believe thatthyssenwas ever in use as the plural number ofthis. The termination seems to have been added, for the sake of the metre, by one who knew that many words formerly ended inen, but was quite ignorant of what particular sorts they were. In the same mannercoyen, Æ. 125. andsothen, Æ. 227. are put forcoyandsothe, contrary to all usage or analogy.
And this leads me to the capital blunder, which runs through all these poems, and would alone be sufficient to destroy their credit; I mean, the termination ofverbs in the singular numberinn[3]. I will set down a number of instances, in whichhanis used for the present or past timesingularof the v.Have; only premising, thathan, being an abbreviation ofhaven, is never used by any ancient writer except in the present timepluraland the infinitive mode.
P. 26. v. 9. The Brytish Merlyn oftennehanneThe gyfte of inspyration.
Ba. 2. The featherd songster chaunticleerHanwounde hys bugle horne.
Æ. 685. Echone wylle wyssen heehanneseene the daie.
734. Bryghte sonnehanynne hys roddie robes byn dyghte.
650. Whanne Englondehanher foemenn.
1137. ——Mie stedehannotte mie love.
1184.Hannealle the fuirie of mysfortunes wylle Fallen onne mie benned headde Ihannebeen Ælla stylle.
G. 20.HaneEnglonde thenne a tongue butte notte a stynge?
M. 61. A tye of love a dawter faire shehanne.
H. 1. 74. Ne doubting but the bravest in the londeHanby his foundynge arrowe-lede bene sleyne.
182. Where he by chancehanslayne a noble's son.
184. And in the battel he much goodehandone.
188. He of his boddiehankepte watch and ward.
207. His chaunce in warr he ne beforehantryde.
281. The erlie felt de Torcies trecherous knyfeHanmade his crymson bloude and spirits floe.
319. O Hengist,hanthy cause bin good and true!
321. The erlie was a manne of hie degree. Andhanthat daie full manie Normannes sleine.
337. But betterhanit bin to lett alone.
If more instances should be wanted, see H. 1. 396. 429. 455. H. 2. 306. 703.—p. 275. ver. 4.—p. 281. ver. 63.—p. 288. ver. 1.
In the same irregular manner the following verbs are usedsingularly.
E. I. 10. Thenfellenon the grounde and thus yspoke.
H. 2. 665. Bewopen Alfwouldefellenon his knee.
P. 287. ver. 17. For thee Igottenor bie wiles or breme.
H. 1. 252. He turned aboute and vilelysoutenflie.
H. 2. 339. Fallyng heshookenout his smokyng braine.
H. 2. 334. His sprite—Neshouldenfind a place in anie songe.
Æ. 172. So Adamthoughtennewhen ynn paradyse——
1136. Tys now fulle morne; Ithoughten, bie laste nyghte—
Ch. 54. Full well itshewn, hethoughtencoste no sinne.
See also H. 2. 366. wherethoughten, with the additional syllable, not being quite long enough for the verse, has had another syllable added at the beginning.
Ne onne abash'denthoughtenfor to flee.
And (what is still more curious) we have a participle of the present tense formed from this fictitious past time, in Æ. 704.
Enthoughteyngfor to scape thebrondeyngefoe—
Which would not have been a bit more intelligible in the XV Century than it would be now.Brondeyngewill be taken notice of below.
Many other instances of the most unwarrantable anomalies might be produced under this head; but I think I have said enough to prove, that the language of these poems is totally different from that of the other English writers of the XV Century; and consequently that they were not written in that century; which was my first, proposition. I shall now endeavour to prove, from the same internal evidence of the language, that they were written entirely by Thomas Chatterton.
For this purpose it will only be necessary to have recourse to those interpretations of words by way of Glossary, which were confessedly written by him[4]. It will soon appear, if I am not much mistaken, that the author of the Glossary was the author of the Poems.
Whoever will take the pains to examine these interpretations will find, that they are almost all taken from SKINNER'SEtymologicon Linguæ Anglicanæ[5]. In many cases, where the words are really ancient, the interpretations are perfectly right; and so far Chatterton can only be considered in the light of a commentator, who avails himself of the best assistances to explane any genuine author. But in many other instances, where the words are either not ancient or not used in their ancient sense, the interpretations are totally unfounded and fantastical; and at the same time the words cannot be altered or amended consistently with any rules of criticism, nor can the interpretations be varied without destroying the sense of the passage. In these cases, I think, there is a just ground for believing, that the words as well as their interpretations came from the hand of Chatterton, especially as they may be proved very often to have taken their rise either from blunders of Skinner himself, or from such mistakes and misapprehensions of his meaning as Chatterton, from haste and ignorance, was very likely to fall into.
I will state first some instances of words and interpretations which have evidently been derived from blunders of Skinner.
ALL A BOON. E. III. 41. See before, p. 315.A manner of asking a favour, says Chatterton.
Now let us hear Skinner.
"=All a bone=, exp. Preces, Supplex Libellus, Supplicatio, vel ut jam loquimur Petitio viro Principi exhibita, ni fallor ab AS. Bene, unde nostrumBoonadditis particulis Fr. G. Ala. Ch. Fab. Mercatoris fol. 30. p. i. Col. 2."
The passage of Chaucer which is referred to, as an authority for this word, is the following, Canterb. Tales, ver. 9492.
"And alderfirst he bade themall a bone," i.e. he made a request to them all. So that Skinner is entirely mistaken in making one phrase of these three words; and it is surely more probable that the author of the poems was misled by him, than that a really ancient writer mould have been guilty of so egregious a blunder.
AUMERES. E. III. 25. is explained by Chatterton to meanBorders of gold and silver, &c. And AUMERE in Æ. 398, and Ch. 7. seems to be used in the same sense ofa border of a garment. And so Skinner has by mistake explained the word, in that passage of Chaucer which has been mentioned above [See p. 316, where the true meaning ofAumereis given].
"=Aumere= ex contextu videturFimbriavelInstita, nescio an a Teut. =Umbher=, Circum, Circa, q. d. Circuitus seu ambitus.Ch. f. 119. p. I.C. I."
BAWSIN. Æ. 57.Large. Chatterton. M. 101.Huge, bulky. Chatterton.
Without pretending to determine the precise meaning of Bawsin, I think I may venture to say that there is no older or better authority for rendering it large, than Skinner. "=Bawsin=, exp.Magnus, Grandis, &c."
BRONDEOUS. E. II. 24.Furious. Chatterton. BRONDED. H. 2. 558. BRONDEYNGE. Æ. 704. BURLIE BRONDE. G. 7.Fury, anger. Chatterton. See also H. 2. 664. All these uses ofBronde, and its supposed derivatives, are taken from Skinner. "Bronde, exp.Furia, &c." though in another place he explains Burly brand (I believe, rightly) to meanMagnus ensis. It should be observed, that the phraseBurly brand, if used in its true sense, would still have been liable to suspicion, as it does not appear in any work, that I am acquainted with, prior to theTestament of Creseide, a Scottish composition, written many years after the time of the supposed Rowley.
BURLED. M. 20.Armed. Chatterton. So Skinner, "Burled, exp.Armatus, &c."
BYSMARE. M. 95.Bewildered, curious. Chatterton. BYSMARELIE. Le. 26.Curiously. Chatterton. See also p. 285. ver. 141. BISMARDE.
It is evident, I think, that all these words are originally derived from Skinner, who has very absurdly explained Bismare to mean Curiosity. The true meaning has been stated above, p. 318.
CALKE. G. 25.Cast. Chatterton. CALKED. E. I. 49.Cast out, ejected. Chatterton. This word appears to have been formed upon a misapprehension of the following article in Skinner. "Calked, exp. Cast, credo Cast up." Chatterton did not attend to the difference betweencasting outandcasting up, i.e.casting up figures in calculation. That the latter was Skinner's meaning may be collected from his next article. "Calked for Calculated. Ch. the Frankeleynes tale." It is probable too, I think, that in both articles Skinner refers, by mistake, to a line ofthe Frankelein's tale, which in the common editions stands thus:
"Ful subtelly he hadcalkedal this."
Wherecalkedis a mere misprint forcalculed, the reading of theMSS. See the late Edit. ver. 11596.
It would be easy to add many more instances of words,either not ancient or not used in their ancient sense, which repeatedly occur in these poems, and must be construed according to those fanciful significations which Skinner has ascribed to them. How that should have happened, unless either Skinner had read the Poems (which, I presume, nobody can suppose,) or the author of the Poems had read Skinner, I cannot see. It is against all odds, that two men, living at the distance of two hundred years one from the other, should accidentally agree in coining the same words, and in affixing to them exactly the same meaning.
I proceed to state some instances of words and interpretations which are evidently founded upon misapprehensions of passages in Skinner.
ALYSE. Le. 29. G. 180.Allow. Chatterton. See before, p. 314.
Till I meet with this word, in this sense, in some approved author, I shall be of opinion that it has been formed from a mistaken reading of the following article in Skinner. "Alised, Authori Dict. Angl. apud quem folum occurrit, exp. Allowed, ab AS. Alised, &c." In the Gothic types used by Skinner f might be easily mistaken for a long s.
BESTOIKER. Æ. 91.Deceiver. Chatterton. See also Æ. 1064.
This word also seems plainly to have originated from a mistake in reading Skinner. "Bestwike, ab AS. Berpican, Spican,Decipere, Fallere, Prodere, Spica, Proditor,Deceptor." Chatterton in his hurry read this as Bestoike, and formed a noun from it accordingly.
BLAKE. Æ. 178. 407.Naked. Chatterton. BLAKIED. E. III. 4.Naked, original. Chatterton. See before, p. 317.
Skinner has the following article. "Blakeandbare, videtur ex contextu prorsusNuda, sort. q. d. BleakandBare, dum enim nudi fumus eóque aeri expositi, præ frigore pallescimus. Ch. sol. 184. p. i. Col. i."
Chatterton has caught hold ofNuda, which in Skinner is the exposition ofBare, as if it belonged toBlake.
HANCELLED. G. 49.Cut off, destroyed. Chatterton.Hancelledfrom erthe these Normanne hyndes shalle bee.
Skinner has the same word, which he thus explains. "Hanceled, exp. Cut off, credo dici proprie, vel primario faltem, tantum de prima portione feu segmento quod ad tentandam feu explorandam rem abscindimus, ut ubi dicimus,toHansella pasty or a gammon of bacon." Chatterton, who had neither inclination nor perhaps ability to make himself master of so long a piece of Latin, appears to have looked no further than the two English words at the beginning of this explanation; and understandingCut offto meanDestroyed, he has usedHancelledin the same sense.
SHAP. Æ. 34. G. 18.Fate. Chatterton. SHAP-SCURGED. Æ. 603.Fate-scourged. Chatterton.
Shaphaveth nowe ymade hys woes for to emmate. Stylle mormorynge atte yershap.——There ys ne house athrow thysshap-scurgedisle.
I never was able to conceive howShapshould have been used in the English language to signifieFate, till I observed the following article in Skinner, "Shap,now is myShap, nunc mihiFatopræstitutum est (i.e.)now is itshapento me, ab AS. Sceapan, &c." I suppose that the wordFato, in the Latin, led Chatterton to understandnow is my shapto meannow is my fate.
The passage, to which Skinner refers, is in the Knight's tale ofChaucer, ver. 1227.
Now is me shapeeternally to dwelleNot only in purgatorie but in helle.
But in the Edit. of 1602, which Skinner appears to have made use of, it is writtenNow is me shap. The putting ofmyformewas probably a mistake of the Printer, as Skinner's explanation shews that he readme. I fancy the generality of readers will be satisfied by the foregoing quotations, that the Author of these poems had not only read Skinner, but has also misapprehended and misapplied what he found in him. If more instances should be wanted, a comparison of the words explained by Chatterton with the same or similar words as explained by Skinner, will furnish them in abundance[6]. I shall therefore conclude this Appendix with a short view of the preceding argument. It has been proved, that the poems attributed to Rowley were not written in the XV Century; and it follows of course, that they were written, at a subsequent period, by some impostor, who endeavoured to counterfeit an author of that century.
It has been proved, that this impostor lived since Skinner, and that the same person wrote the interpretations of words by way of Glossary, which are subjoined to most of the poems.
It has also been proved, that Chatterton wrote those interpretations of words.
Whether any thing further be necessary to prove, that the poems were entirely written by Chatterton, is left to the reader's judgement. If he should stick at the wordentirely, which may possibly seem to carry the conclusion a little beyond the premisses, he is desired to reflect, that, the poems having been proved to be a forgery since the time of Skinner, and to have been written in great part by Chatterton, it is infinitely more probable that the remainder was also written by him than by any other person. The great difficulty is to conceive that a youth, like Chatterton, should ever have formed the plan of such an imposture, and should have executed it with so much perseverance and ingenuity; but if we allow (as I think we must) that he was the author of those pieces to which he subjoined his interpretations, I can see no reason whatever for supposing that he had any assistance in the rest. The internal evidence is strong that they are all from one hand; and external evidence there is none, that I have been able to meet with, which ought to persuade us, that a single line, of verse or prose, purporting to be the work of ROWLEY, existed before the time of CHATTERTON.
[Footnote 1: I have chosen thispartof the internal evidence, because the arguments, which it furnishes, are not only very decisive, but also lie within a moderate compass. For the same reason of brevity, I have confined my observations to apartonly of thispart, viz. towords, considered with respect to theirsignificationsandinflexions. A complete examination of this subjectin all its partswould be a work of length.]
[Footnote 2: Of these varieties all, except the first, are more properly varieties ofstylethan oflanguage. Thelocal situationof a writer may certainly produce aprovincial dialect, which will often differ essentially from the language used at the same time in other parts of the same country. But this can only happen in the case of persons of no education and totally illiterate; and such persons seldom write. It is unnecessary however to discuss this point very accurately, as nobody, I believe, will contend, that the poems attributed to Rowley are written in anyprovincial dialect. If there should be a few words in them, which are now more common at Bristol than at London, it should be remembered that Chatterton was of Bristol.]
[Footnote 3: It is not surprizing that Chatterton should have been ignorant of a peculiarity of the English language, which appears to have escaped the observation of a professed editor of Chaucer. Mr. Urry has very frequently lengthenedverbs in the singular number, by addingnto them, without any authority, I am persuaded, even from the errors of former Editions or MSS. It might seem invidious to point out living writers, of acknowledged learning, who have slipped into the same mistake in their imitations of Chaucer and Spenser.]
[Footnote 4: This is a point so material to the following argument, that, though it has never hitherto, I believe, been made a question, it ought not perhaps to be assumed without some proof. It may be said, that Chatterton was only thetranscriberof the Glossary as well as of the Poems. If to such an attention we were to answer, that Chatterton always declared himself theauthorof the Glossaries, we should be told perhaps, that with equal truth he always declared Rowley to have been the author of the Poems. But (not to insist upon the very different weight, which the same testimony might be allowed to have in the two cases) it has happened luckily, that the Glossary to the Poem, entitled "Englysh Metamorphosis," [See p. 196.] was written down by Chatterton extemporally, without the assistance of any book, at the desire and in the presence of Mr. Barrett. Whoever will compare that Glossary with the others, will have no doubt of their being all from the same hand.]
[Footnote 5: Printed at London, MDCLXXI. The part, which Chatterton seems to have chiefly consulted, is that, which begins at Sign. U u u u, and is entitled "Etymologicon vocum omnium antiquarum Anglicarum, quæ usque a Wilhelmo Victore invaluerunt, &c."]
[Footnote 6: I will state shortly some of those words, which have been cited above, p. 313. aseither not ancient or not used in their ancient sense, with their corresponding articles in Skinner.
ABESSIE;Humility. C.—Abessed;—Humiliatus. Sk.
ABORNE;Burnished, C.—Borne;Burnish. Sk. It was usual withChatterton to prefixato words of all sorts, without any regard tocustom or propriety. See in the Alphabetical Gloss.Aboune, Abreave,Acome, Aderne, Adygne, Agrame, Agreme, Alest, &c.
ABOUNDE. This word Chatterton has not interpreted, but the context shews that it is used in the sense ofgood. So that I suspect it was taken from the following article in Skinner. Abone,—a Fr. G. Abonnir;Bonumfacere.
ABREDYNGE:Upbraiding. C.—Abrede, exp.Upbraid. Sk.
ACROOL;Faintly. C.—Crool, exp.Murmurare. Sk. See the remark upon ABORNE.
ADENTE, ADENTED:Fastened, annexed. C.—Adent;—Configere,Conjungere. Sk.
ALUSTE has no interpretation: but it is used in the sense ofraise. Perhaps it may have been derived from a mistaken reading of Alust, which is explained by Skinner to meanTollere. See the remarks uponAlyseandBestoiker, p. 328, 329.
DERNE, DERNIE;Woeful, lamentable, cruel. C.—Derne;Dirus, crudelis. Sk.
DROORIE;Modesty. C.—Drury;Modestia. Sk.
FONS, FONNES;Fancys, Devices. C.—Fonnes;Devises. Sk.
KNOPPED;Fastened, chained, congealed. C.—Knopped;Tied. Sk.
LITHIE:Humble. C.—Lithy;Humble. Sk. But in truth I do not believe that there is any such word. Skinner probably found it in his edition of Chaucer'sCuckow and Nightingale, ver. 14. where the MSS. have LITHER (wicked), which is undoubtedly the right reading.]