Chapter 95

‘Propter peccatum regis populi perierunt,Quicquid et econtra litera raro docet.’

‘Propter peccatum regis populi perierunt,

Quicquid et econtra litera raro docet.’

See alsoConf. Am.vii. 3925 ff.

22835.Vox Clam.vi. 498, ‘Nam caput infirmum membra dolere facit.’

22843. 2 Sam. xxiv.

22866.fait blemir, ‘injures.’

22874. The MS. has ‘dix,’ but the author evidently meant ‘six.’

22883.au parler, ‘so to say.’

22894.fait plus ne meinz, ‘does just the same thing.’

22962. ‘There is no one whom David will teach by his example,’ i.e. who will follow David’s example.

22965. That is, for the French the harping is out of tune, because they do not accept their rightful ruler.

22967. With this question cp.Conf. Am. Prol.1053 ff.,

‘Bot wolde god that now were onAn other such as Arion,’ &c.

‘Bot wolde god that now were on

An other such as Arion,’ &c.

22975 f. Apparently the meaning is ‘And the sorrow that David felt for his sins is now changed.’

22981.si fretz que sage, see note on 16700.

22982. PerhapsCic. de Off.i. 68, ‘Non est autem consentaneum, qui metu non frangatur, eum frangi cupiditate.’

22984 ff. Cp.Vox Clam.vi. 807-810.

22995. Is. xxviii. 1.

23006. 2 Sam. xvi. 5 ff.

23011. 1 Sam. xxiv.

23021. 2 Kings xix. The number of the slain is given in the Bible as 185,000.

23041 ff. For Justice and Mercy as royal virtues cp.Conf. Am.vii. 2695 ff., where they are the third and fourth points of policy, the first and fifth being Truth and Chastity, which have been dealt with in 22753 ff., and the second Liberality, which may have been spoken of in the lines which are lost.

23053. Sen.Clem.iii. 2 ff.

23055. Cp. 13921 andConf. Am.vii. 3137.

23059. Cp. 13918 andConf. Am.vii. 3161.*

23072. 1 Macc. iii. 18, 19.

23082. Ps. lxxxv. 10: cp.Conf. Am. Prol.109.

23089. Observe the mixture of tenses, present ind., conditional, and imperfect ind., in the conditional clauses.

23116.tant amonte, ‘is in the same position.’

23136.de son aguait, ‘by the snare which he sets for him.’

23149. Cp.Conf. Am.vii. 3891 ff.

23191.Cusy: in the Vulgate ‘Chusai,’ A. V. Hushai.

23216. Cp. 5459.

23370. The quotation is actually from Juvenal, but it is attributed to Horace both here and inConf. Am.vii. 3581. The lines areSat.viii. 269 ff.,

‘Malo pater tibi sit Thersites, dummodo tu sisAeacidae similis Vulcaniaque arma capessas,Quam te Thersitae similem producat Achilles.’

‘Malo pater tibi sit Thersites, dummodo tu sis

Aeacidae similis Vulcaniaque arma capessas,

Quam te Thersitae similem producat Achilles.’

Our author no doubt picked up the quotation in a common-place book. He refers to ‘Orace’ also in ll. 3804 and 10948, the true reference in the latter case being to Ovid, while the former quotation is really from Horace.

23393. The ‘pigas’ is the long-pointed shoe worn by fashionable people at the time. ‘Not one of these rich men is born with his pointed shoe,’ says the author.

23413. ‘Much is that bird to be blamed,’ &c. Cp.Vox Clam.v. 835 f.,

‘Turpiter errat auis, proprium que stercore nidum,Cuius erit custos, contaminare studet.’

‘Turpiter errat auis, proprium que stercore nidum,

Cuius erit custos, contaminare studet.’

23492.si te pourvoie, ‘and provide thyself (accordingly).’

23500. Probably Matt. vi. 19.

23534. ‘That the law excuses you’: ‘despenser avec’ is used similarly in l. 1400.

23573 f.se delitera ... tout avant, ‘will go on taking pleasure.’

23582.a ce q’en ce termine, &c., ‘according as the matter appears in regard to this order,’ i.e. what lies within the limits of this class: cp. 16151.

23607.Qe nous ne devons, ‘so that we may not,’ so also in 23640; see note on 1193.

23638. ‘At the making of the new knight’: a curious use of the gerund.

23659.au prodhomme, ‘to be valiant.’

23671.l’onour de France: the particular name of the country is of no consequence and is determined probably by the rhyme. That the general point of view is not a continental one is shown by 23713.

23683.jours d’amour, ‘love-days,’ for reconciliation of those who had differences.

23701 ff. Cp.Vox Clam.v. 519 f.

23704 ff. ‘If anyone pays him well, he will show himself valiant at the sessions.’

23722 ff. ‘Though the heralds cry little to him for largess, yet he gives the poor reason to complain’: he robs the poor without the excuse of being generous to others out of the proceeds.

23726.un chivaler de haie, ‘a hedgerow knight.’

23732 ff. Terms of war are ironically used: he draws up his court in order of battle and throws into confusion the jury-panell, to support his friends and dismay their poorer opponents.

23755.du loy empereour, ‘by the law of the emperor.’

23815.n’ad garde de, ‘does not keep himself from.’

23844.quatorsze.The precise number is of no importance, cp. 24958. InConf. Am.ii. 97, the author says ‘mo than twelve’ in a similar manner.

23869.Sisz chivalers.The author apparently will not admit the three pagan worthies, Hector, Alexander, and Julius Cæsar.

23895. Cp.Conf. Am.iv. 1630 f.,

‘Somtime in Prus, somtime in Rodes,And somtime into Tartarie.’

‘Somtime in Prus, somtime in Rodes,

And somtime into Tartarie.’

23907.vois, for ‘vais.’

23920 ff. Cp.Conf. Am.iv. 1634 ff.,

‘And thanne he yifth hem gold and cloth,So that his fame mihte springe,’ &c.

‘And thanne he yifth hem gold and cloth,

So that his fame mihte springe,’ &c.

alsoVox Clam.v. 257 ff.

23922. See note on 10341.

23933 ff. Cp.Conf. Am.iv. 1664 f., andVox Clam.v. 267 ff.

23982.trop sont petit: probably, ‘there are too few.’

24097. This denunciation of war is quite characteristic of the author: cp.Conf. Am. Prol.122-192.

24129.voldroiont, ‘ought to desire’: see note on 1688.

24170 f. Cp.Conf. Am. Prol.833,

‘The world empeireth every day.’

24216.Vei la: so ‘vei cy,’ 23688.

24226 ff. i.e. he will not undertake the cause which is not favoured by fortune. The ‘double ace’ would of course be the lowest throw with two dice, and ‘sixes’ the highest.

24255 ff. Cp.Vox Clam.vi. 241-244.

24265. ‘Ne quid nimis.’

24267.Des tieux, ‘such persons,’ subject of the verb.

24272 f. ‘Neither his nature nor his strain is seasoned with justice.’

24290. The word ‘mire’ seems here to be used for a surgeon as distinguished from a physician: that, however, is not its ordinary use.

24325.Qui, like ‘Quique’ in 24313, ‘Whosoever may have to pay, these will get exemption, if they can.’

24326.appaier.I take this to be for ‘a paier,’ like ‘affaire’ for ‘a faire’: ‘estovoir’ is used with or without ‘a,’ cp. l. 42.

24338.volt, imperf. subj., cp. 327.

24362.encharné.The metaphor is from hounds being trained for hunting, as we see from ‘quirée,’ ‘courre,’ ‘odour,’ &c., in the succeeding lines.

24379. Cp.Vox Clam.vi. 251,

‘Si cupit in primo, multo magis ipse secundo,’

i.e. ‘in primo gradu,’ which is that of ‘Apprentis,’ the second being that of ‘Sergant.’

24398. Matt. xix. 29, but the quotation is not quite accurate.

24435.Sur son sergant: the double meaning of ‘sergant’ is played upon, as in ‘Qui sert au siecle,’ 24415.

24440.coronne: alluding to the French coin so called from the crown upon it.

24469 ff. I do not know the origin of this curious statement.

24481. Probably Is. v. 21 ff.

24485 f.mais la partie, &c., ‘but as for the side that is poor, justice sleeps.’

24519. Job xxi. 7-13.

24530. Gen. xxxii. 10.

24543. Is. v. 8, 9, ‘Vae, qui coniungitis domum ad domum, et agrum agro copulatis usque ad terminum loci’: &c.

24544. Cp.Vox Clam.vi. 141.

24582.la verrour, i.e. the truth expressed in the preceding line, that they make their gains by wrongful means. Cp.Vox Clam.vi. 144,

‘Set de fine patet quid sibi iuris habet.’

24583. Cp.Vox Clam.vi. 145 ff.

24605.a demesure, i.e. at an extravagant price, so that, as the author goes on to say, poor people cannot afford to buy in their market.

24625. For the metre cp. 2742, 26830: see Introd. p. xlv.

24646. ‘But advanced my unjust cause,’ &c. This position of ‘ainz’ is quite characteristic of the author: see note on 415.

24678. Ex. xxiii. 8.

24697. James i. 19.

24715. Gal. iii. 19, and Rom. xiii. 4.

24722. Deut. xxvii. 19.

24733 ff. Cp.Vox Clam.vi. 387 ff.

24748.comme tant, ‘how much.’

24769. Is. i. 23.

24782.Ad, ‘there is.’

24817 ff. TheVox Clamantisas usual runs parallel to this, with the heading, ‘Hic loquitur de errore Vicecomitum, Balliuorum necnon et in assisis Iuratorum,’ &c., vi. 419 ff.

24832. For the order of words cp. 24646.

24852. ‘His conscience will not fail him,’ that is, will not be an obstacle.

24858.il n’est pas si nice, ‘he is not so nice,’ i. e. not so careful about it. The word ‘nice,’ meaning originally ‘ignorant,’ ‘foolish,’ passes naturally to the meaning of ‘foolishly scrupulous’ in a half ironical sense, as here.

24917.enmy la main.As ‘devant la main,’ ‘apres la main,’ mean ‘beforehand’ and ‘afterwards,’ this apparently is ‘meanwhile.’

24949.Des soubz baillifs, &c. Cp. 25014. ‘Des’ depends on ‘tout plein’ (toutplein), ‘a quantity’; as ‘toutplein des flours,’Bal.xxxvii. 2, ‘tout plein des autres,’Mir.74. Join ‘soubz’ with ‘baillifs,’ ‘under-reeves,’ the ‘visconte’ being regarded as a superior ‘baillif or reeve,’ which of course in a certain sense he was, witness the name ‘sheriff.’

24955.Vei la, cp. 24216: ‘ministre’ is of course plural.

24958. Cp. 23844.

24962. Cp.Vox Clam.vi. 467 f.,

‘Ut crati bufo maledixit, sic maledicoTot legum dominis et sine lege magis.’

‘Ut crati bufo maledixit, sic maledico

Tot legum dominis et sine lege magis.’

24973.Vox Clam.463 f.,

‘Quid seu Balliuis dicam, qui sunt AcherontisVt rapide furie?’

‘Quid seu Balliuis dicam, qui sunt Acherontis

Vt rapide furie?’

24981.ribalds: observe the rhyme, showing that the ‘d’ is not sounded.

24996. A proverbial expression, which occurs also in 15405 f.

25021 ff. I do not clearly understand the first lines of the stanza. Perhaps it means, ‘For the expense to which you go in buying their perjury they pay (or suffer) the burdening of their conscience.’ Then afterwards, ‘The bribe is enough for them by way of evidence, for covetousness dispenses them from anything more’: ‘ove leur dispense,’ ‘arranges with them’ that this shall be enough.

25064.il, for ‘ils,’ cp. 10341.

25071.sanz culpe d’enditer, ‘free from indictable fault.’

25110.tesmoignal: the original idea of a jury, as a body of persons living in the locality and able to bear witness to the facts of the case, had not disappeared in the fourteenth century.

25127.le pot hoster, ‘might have stopped it.’

25151.serra vendu, ‘will prove to have been bought by you’ (at a high price).

25153. ‘Truth is no libel,’ the author’s justification for speaking freely.

25166. Cp.Vox Clam.vi. 439,

‘Causidici lanam rapiunt, isti quoque pellemTollunt, sic inopi nil remanebit oui.’

‘Causidici lanam rapiunt, isti quoque pellem

Tollunt, sic inopi nil remanebit oui.’

25177 ff. With this compare the heading of Bk. v. ch. ii. in theVox Clamantis: ‘Quia varias rerum proprietates vsui humano necessarias nulla de se prouincia sola parturit vniuersas,’ &c.

25216 ff. Cp.Conf. Am. Prol.489 ff.

25239. In theVox Clamantisalso we have cheating personified (under the name of Fraus), and its operations classified as affecting (1) Usurers, (2) Merchants and shopkeepers, (3) Artificers, (4) Victuallers. SeeVox Clam.v. 703-834.

25240.pour sercher, &c. For the form of expression cp.Bal.xi. l. 5,Conf. Am.i. 2278,

‘To sechen al the worldes riche,’

and other similar passages.

25254.Brutus, i. e. Brut of Troy: so London is referred to in theConfessio Amantis, Prol. 37*,

‘Under the toun of newe Troie,Which tok of Brut his ferste joie.’

‘Under the toun of newe Troie,

Which tok of Brut his ferste joie.’

25261 ff. ‘Fraud may have large dealings, but he has small honesty when he buys and sells by different standards of weight.’ The idea is apparently that the buyer is deceived as to the true market price when wholesale dealings are carried on with weights nominally the same but really different, as when the merchant buys coal by the ton of 21 cwt.

25269. See note on 3367.

25270.la crois, &c.: cp. 18580.

25287. Cp.Bal.xviii. l. 8.

25289. Cp.Vox Clam.v. 749 ff.

25302. ‘Chalk for cheese,’ a proverbial expression used also inConf. Am. Prol.415: still current in some parts of England.

25321. John iii. 20.

25327. Cp.Vox Clam.v. 779 f.,

‘Fraus eciam pannos vendit, quos lumine fuscoCernere te faciet, tu magis inde caue.’

‘Fraus eciam pannos vendit, quos lumine fusco

Cernere te faciet, tu magis inde caue.’

25332.du pris la foy, ‘the true price.’

25333. Cp.Vox Clam.v. 757 ff.,

‘Ad precium duplum Fraus ponit singula, dicensSic, “Ita Parisius Flandria siue dedit.”Quod minus est in re suplent iurancia verba,’ &c.

‘Ad precium duplum Fraus ponit singula, dicens

Sic, “Ita Parisius Flandria siue dedit.”

Quod minus est in re suplent iurancia verba,’ &c.

25350.a son dessus, so ‘at myn above’ inConf. Am.vi. 221.

25556.tu plederas, ‘you will have to sue him.’

25558. ‘He pays no regard to honesty.’

25569.parasi, equivalent to ‘parisi,’ properly an adjective used with names of various coins, as ‘livre parisie,’ but often also by itself to denote some coin of small value, in phrases such as we have here.

25607. For this function of St. Michael cp. 13302. Here the point suggested is that the seller ought to be reminded by his balance of that in which his merits must eventually be weighed.

25618.enclinez: this is simply a graphical variation ofenclines, rhyming with ‘falsines,’ &c.

25631. Cp. 20912.

25657 ff. ‘I would not desire a better stomach than could be ruined by medicines, or a longer purse than could be drained by an apothecary,’ i. e. the best of stomachs and the longest of purses may be thus ruined.

25691. ‘But if they had worn wool,’ &c.

25717 ff. Cp.Vox Clam.v. 793 ff.,

‘Si quid habes panni, de quo tibi vis fore vestem,Fraus tibi scindit eam, pars manet vna sibi;Quamuis nil sit opus vestis mensuraque fallit,Plus capit ex opere quam valet omne tibi.’

‘Si quid habes panni, de quo tibi vis fore vestem,

Fraus tibi scindit eam, pars manet vna sibi;

Quamuis nil sit opus vestis mensuraque fallit,

Plus capit ex opere quam valet omne tibi.’

25729 ff.Vox Clam.v. 805.

25753 ff. Cp.Vox Clam.v. 745 ff.

25801 ff. Cp.Conf. Am. Prol.111 ff.

25826. ‘Will see their halls carpeted’ (or ‘covered with tapestry’), so ‘encourtiner’ below; a loose employment of the infinitive.

25839 ff. Observe the confusion of 2nd pers. sing. and 2nd pers. plur. in this stanza, especially ‘tu gaignerez’ in 25842. Even if we take ‘baillerez,’ ‘gaignerez,’ &c., as rhyme-modifications of ‘gaigneras,’ &c., this will not go for ‘avisez,’ which must be meant for 2nd pers. plur. pres. subj.: cp. 442, &c.

25853. This would be to avoid arrest. The liberty of St. Peter would perhaps be the precincts of Westminster Abbey, that of St. Martin might be the Church of St. Martin in the Fields: but perhaps no definite reference is intended. He takes advantage of the sanctuary to make terms with his creditors.

25887. Ecclus. xiii. 24 (30), ‘Bona est substantia cui non est peccatum in conscientia.’

25898. Matt. xvi. 26.

25975 f. The author returns to the observation made at the beginning of his remarks on the estate of Merchants, that the calling is honourable, though some may pursue it in a dishonest manner.

26019. Cp.Vox Clam.v. 777 f.,

‘Fraus manet in doleo, trahit et vult vendere vinum,Sepeque de veteri conficit ipsa novum.’

‘Fraus manet in doleo, trahit et vult vendere vinum,

Sepeque de veteri conficit ipsa novum.’

26112.maisq’elles soient lieres, ‘even though they should be robbers’ (of their husbands):maisquecan hardly have here its usual meaning ‘provided that’; cp. 26927.

26120.brusch.The occurrence of this word here in a connexion which leaves no doubt of its identity is worth remark: seeNew Engl. Dict.under ‘brusque,’ ‘brisk,’ ‘brussly.’

26130.au sojour, ‘at their ease’ in their tavern: ‘sojour’ means properly ‘stay’ in a place, hence ‘rest’ or ‘refreshment’: cp. the uses of the verb ‘sojourner.’

26133.ne pil ne crois, ‘neither head nor tail’ of a coin, i. e. no money: ‘cross and pile’ was once a familiar English phrase.

26185 ff. Cp.Vox Clam.v. 809 f.,

‘Fraus facit ob panes pistores scandere clatas,Furca tamen furis iustior esset eis.’

‘Fraus facit ob panes pistores scandere clatas,

Furca tamen furis iustior esset eis.’

26231.les chars mangiers, &c., ‘flesh will not be food for the common people.’

26288 ff. ‘His conscience does not remind him of the truth until after he has been paid.’

26342 ff. ‘Of all those who live by buying and selling I will not except a single one as not submissive to Fraud.’

26365. This complaint, directed against some particular Mayor of London, whose proceedings were disapproved of by the author, is repeated in theVox Clamantis, v. 835 ff.

26374. Cp.Vox Clam.v. 1005 ff.

26391.celle autre gent, ‘the other people.’

26401. Matt. v. 29 f.

26427.guardessent, for ‘guardassent,’ or rather ‘guardeissent.’

26477.en orguillant: perhaps rather ‘enorguillant.’

26480.au servir souffrirent, ‘submitted to service.’

26497 ff. Cp.Conf. Am. Prol.after l. 498,

‘Ignis, aqua dominans duo sunt pietate carentes,Ira tamen plebis est violenta magis.’

‘Ignis, aqua dominans duo sunt pietate carentes,

Ira tamen plebis est violenta magis.’

26571. Hos. iv. 1-3, ‘non est enim veritas, et non est misericordia, et non est scientia Dei in terra ... Propter hoc lugebit terra et infirmabitur omnis qui habitat in ea,’ &c.

26581 ff. With this discussion cp.Conf. Am. Prol.520 ff.

26590 ff. Cp.Vox Clam.vii. 361,

‘O mundus, mundus, dicunt, O ve tibi mundus!’

26699.la malice seculier, ‘the evil of the world.’

26716.pluvie.For the suppression of the ‘i’ see note on 296.

26737.Commete: the reference is probably to that of the year 1368.

26745.diete, ‘influence,’ from the idea of regularity in the physical effect which the heavenly bodies are supposed to produce, like that of food or medicine: cp.Conf. Am.vii. 633 ff.

26748.Nous n’avons garde de, apparently for ‘que nous n’avions garde,’ ‘that we should not pay regard to.’

26749. Albumasar’s books on astrology, especially theIntroductorium in Astronomiamand theLiber Florum, were very well known in Latin translations, apparently abridged from the originals. This reference is toIntroduct.iii. 3: ‘Ut vero sol aerem calefacit, purgat, attenuat, sic pro modo suo luna et stellae. Unde Ypocras in libro climatum, Nisi luna et stellae, inquit, nocturnam densitatem attenuarent, elementa impenetrabilis aeris pinguetudine corporum omnium vitam corrumperent.’ (Quoted from the Bodleian copy of the edition printed at Venice, 1506.)

26799.Qui, ‘for whom.’

26810. Referring perhaps to Hos. iv. 3, quoted above.

26830. For the metre, cp. 2742.

26851. ‘For that in which he is alone to blame’: ‘dont que’ used for ‘dont,’ cp. 1779.

26857. Job v. 6, ‘Nihil in terra sine causa fit’: it is different in A. V.

26869. This is a citation which occurs in all the three books of our author: cp.Conf. Am. Prol.945 ff. andVox Clam.vii. 639 ff. In both places the argument is the same as here. The quotation is from Greg.Hom. in Evang.ii. 39, ‘Omnis autem creaturae aliquid habet homo. Habet namque commune esse cum lapidibus, vivere cum arboribus, sentire cum animalibus, intelligere cum angelis.’ Cp.Moral.vi. 16.

26885.Et en aler.Similarly in theVox Clam.vii. 641 motion is made one of the five senses to the exclusion of smelling,

‘Sentit et audit homo, gustat, videt, ambulat.’

26927.maisq’il le compiere, ‘that he should abye it’: for this use of ‘maisqe’ instead of ‘que’ cp. 26112.

26931. Aristotle speaks of animals as microcosms (e. g.Phys.viii. 2) and argues from them to the μέγας κόσμος, but of course the quotation here is at second hand.

26934. Cp.Vox Clam.vii. 645 ff., ‘Sic minor est mundus homo, qui fert singula solus,’ &c.

26955. The rhyme requires ‘mer et fieu’ for ‘fieu et mer.’

26989. Lev. xxvi. 3 ff.

27001 f. With what follows compareVox Clam.ii. 217-348, where the whole subject is worked out at length with many examples, including nearly all those which occur in this passage.

27015.Vox Clam.ii. 243, ‘Sol stetit in Gabaon iusto Iosue rogitante,’ &c.

27019.Vox Clam.ii. 247 f.

27022.Vox Clam.ii. 249 f.

27031.Vox Clam.ii. 259 f. The story is in theLegenda Aurea: it is to the effect that in an assembly of prelates Hilarius found himself elbowed out of all the honourable seats and compelled to sit on the ground. Upon this the floor rose under him and brought him up to a level with the rest.

27037.Vox Clam.ii. 253 f.

27040.Vox Clam.ii. 255 f.

27046 ff.Vox Clam.ii. 265-274.

27061. Paul, the first eremite, is said to have been fed daily by a raven for over sixty years.

27065 ff.Vox Clam.ii. 277-280.

27077.Vox Clam.ii. 287 f.

27079.Vox Clam.ii. 315 f.

27081 ff.Vox Clam.ii. 281-284.

27088.soy vivant, ‘while he is living.’

27165. That is, ‘he passes by his death into a life of damnation’: the antithesis ‘vit du mort’ and ‘moert du vie’ is a very strained one.

27367.De Ire: cp. 12241.

27372. ‘With no compensating goodness’: ‘refaire’ must mean here ‘to do in return’ (or in compensation).

27411.que me renovelle, ‘which is ever renewed in me’: for ‘renoveller’ in this sense cp. 11364.

27568 f.vais ... tien: indicative for subjunctive, ‘tien’ for ‘tiens,’ unless it is meant for imperative.

27662.ove tout l’enfant, ‘together with the child’: cp. ll. 4, 12240, &c.

27722.Tiels jours y ot, ‘on some days.’

27814 f. ‘He it is whom you will espouse to the virgin,’ i.e. the bearer of that rod.

27841.a coustummance, ‘after the custom’: the MS. has ‘acoustummance,’ but this can hardly stand. The same in 28190.

27867. Cp.Bal.xxv., ‘Car qui bien aime ses amours tard oblie.’

27935.eustes: apparently 2nd pers. pl. preterite. If so, it is combined rather boldly with the 2nd pers. sing. in ‘as’ and ‘avras’: cp. 442.

27942.Comme cil q’est toutpuissant: a very common form of expression in theConfessio Amantis, e.g. i. 925, 1640, &c. See alsoBal.vii. l. 7, xi. l. 16. It occurs more than once in this narrative portion of theMirour, e.g. 28248, 28883, 28900.

27949. There may be some doubt here as to the arrangement of the inverted commas; but it seems best to take the whole of this stanza as direct report, in which case ‘Il’ in 27950 refers to ‘God.’ The sentence below is a little disordered, as is often the case with our author: ‘He showed thee a special sign six months since in thy cousin Elizabeth, who was barren, but God,’ &c. Cp. 17996,Conf. Am.vi. 1603 ff., and many other passages.

28091. Probably Ps. cxxxviii. 6.

28110.Maisque, here apparently ‘moreover’: cp. 28276.

28112.te lie, ‘binds thee (in swaddling bands).’

28115 f. That is, all these characters, daughter, wife, nurse, mother, sister, &c., were summed up in one woman: ‘forsqe’ here means ‘only,’ the negative being omitted, much as we say ‘but’ in English.

28139. Luke ii. 14, from the text ‘et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.’

28160.y venoit, ‘there came,’ a kind of impersonal expression.

28183.estoit finis, ‘was brought to an end.’

28190.a coustumance: cp. 27841.

28205. Luke ii. 29 ff.

28247.qu’il serroit desfait, &c., ‘planned that he might be destroyed.’

28310.fiere, ‘strange.’

28349. ‘By agreement between thee and them.’

28358.fecis, for ‘fesis,’ 2nd sing. pret.

28383. That is ‘A Nazareth a ton parenté.’

28394.Maisque, ‘except that,’ cp. 1920.

28395.Archideclin: a corruption from ‘architriclinus,’ used in the Latin version of John ii. to represent the Greek ἀρχιτρίκλινος, ‘master of the feast,’ and commonly supposed to be the name of the entertainer: cp. 28762.

28409.fesoiont a loer, ‘were fit to be praised’: cp. 28506, and see note on 1883.

28414 ff. ‘But above all he showed great joy in your lineage, each in his degree,’ that is in keeping company with those of the Virgin’s family: but it might mean ‘he caused great joy to be felt by those of your lineage.’

28475.de son affere, ‘for his part,’ one of those rather meaningless phrases, such as ‘endroit de soy,’ ‘en son degré,’ ‘au droit devis,’ with which our author fills up lines on occasion.

28502.se pourvoit, ‘considers with himself’: cp. 14973.

28547.toute pleine: rather a more unscrupulous disregard than usual of gender and number for the sake of metre and rhyme.

28762.Centurio, taken as a proper name: cp. 28395.

28790.pour estovoir, ‘for their need,’ i.e. to accomplish that which had to be done.

28813. For the form of expression cp. 22744 andTrait.xiv. l. 15: it is common also in theConfessio Amantis.

28847.la sentence, ‘the sentence’ in a judicial sense, i.e. the judgment executed by the spear.

28914.compassioun, used especially of the sufferings of the Virgin during the passion of Christ.

28919.ta meditacioun, ‘meditation upon thee,’ if the text is right, but I am disposed to suggest ‘ta mediacioun.’

28941 f. These two lines are written over an erasure and perhaps in a different hand: cp. 4109, 4116.

29078.Pour ... avoir, see note on 6328.

29178.n’en doubte mie.The author shows here an unexpectedly clear perception of the difference between Gospel history and unauthorized legend.

29222.Qe nous devons, ‘in order that we may,’ so below, ‘Ainçois q’om doit par tout conter,’ ‘but that we may tell it everywhere.’ For this use of ‘devoir’ see note on 1193.

29264.t’encline, ‘bows to thee’: the verb is intransitive and the pronoun dative.

29390. The word ‘pensée’ counts as three syllables in this line, whereas usually the termination ‘-ée’ in Anglo-Norman verse of this period is equivalent to ‘-é’; cp. 29415. Perhaps we should read ‘penseie;’ see Introduction p. xx.

29411 f. ‘Well fitting was the love which he had for thee, through whom,’ &c.

29421.de son halt estage: cp.Conf. Am.iv. 2977,

‘This Yris, fro the hihe stageWhich undertake hath the message,’ &c.

‘This Yris, fro the hihe stage

Which undertake hath the message,’ &c.

29585.la disme joye, ‘the tenth part of the joy.’

29604.tu vendretz: see note on 442.

29636. Probably we should readqueforqui: ‘(I pray) that thou wouldest send.’

29746.de sa covine, ‘by his purpose.’

29769.pourloignasse: pret. subj. for past conditional, cp. 29778.

29784.Ussont moustré, ‘they ought to show,’ used for conditional in the sense referred to in the note on l. 1688.

29798. ‘Witness thy Gospels,’ i.e. ‘the witness is that of thy Gospels.’

29821.le livre: cp. 27475 ff., where it is implied that the author follows a Latin book.

29869.me donne, ‘tells me.’

29878 ff. ‘But in order that it may perchance please thee, I set all my business, as best I may, to do honour to thy person.’ I have separated ‘Maisque,’ because that seems necessary for the sense. The author hopes that, though his Lady has the crown of heaven, yet she may be pleased by his humble endeavours to do her honour on earth.

29890.t’en fais continuer, ‘thou dost continue in the work,’ a reflexive use of ‘continuer’ with ‘faire’ as auxiliary.

DEDICATION OF BALADES

I. 7. ‘He who trusts in God,’ &c. ‘Qe’ is used for ‘Qui.’

15.Vostre oratour.The poet means no doubt to speak of himself as one who is bound to pray for the king. At the same time it is to be noticed that ‘Orator regius’ was at the beginning of the sixteenth century an official title, borne by Skelton in the reign of Henry VIII, and perhaps nearly equivalent to the later ‘Poet-laureate.’ Skelton was ‘laureatus’ of the Universities, that is he had taken a degree in rhetoric and poetry at Oxford, and apparently something equivalent at Cambridge.

16. The pronunciation of the name ‘Gower’ as a dissyllable with the accent on the termination, which is required here and in the Envoy to theTraitié, is the same as that which we have in theConfessio Amantisviii. 2908, where it rhymes with ‘-er.’

23.perfit: so written in full in the MS. and correctly given by the Roxburghe editor. Dr. Stengel gives ‘parfit’ on the assumption that there is a contraction. That is not so here, but in many cases of this kind he is right.

24.sentence: so in MS. (not with a capital as in the Roxb. ed.). The same remark applies to ‘valour’ in ii. l. 33, ‘s’est’ inBal.vii. l. 18, ‘lettre’ xviii. l. 24, xx. l. 25, xxii. l. 27, ‘lors’ xxxvi. l. 3, ‘se,’ xxxvi. l. 10, ‘helas’ xliii. l. 6, ‘vous’ xlix. l. 23.

O recolende, &c.

8. After this line probably one has dropped out, for when this piece appears (in a somewhat different form) among the Latin poems of the All Souls’ and Glasgow MSS. we have

‘Rex confirmatus, licet vndique magnificatus,Sub Cristo gratus viuas tamen immaculatus,’

‘Rex confirmatus, licet vndique magnificatus,

Sub Cristo gratus viuas tamen immaculatus,’

and ‘licet’ seems to require some such addition.

The quotation ‘Nichil proficiet’ is from Ps. lxxxix. (Vulg.lxxxviii.) 23, and the other from Ps. xli. (Vulg.xl.) 2.

II. This balade has been printed hitherto as if it consisted of four stanzas only, but in the MS., which is here damaged, there is not only space for another, but the initials of its lines still remain.

20.vendra: the reading ‘voudra’ is a mistake due to the Roxb. edition.

26. For the conjectural ending of the line cp.Mirour26423.

BALADES

Title.—This is partly lost by the damage to the leaf of the MS., which has been mentioned above. The fragments of the latter part seem to indicate that the whole series of balades was expressly written by the author for the entertainment of the court of Henry IV: cp. D. ii. l. 27 f. The end of it perhaps ran thus, ‘ad fait, dont les nobles de la Court se puissent duement desporter,’ or something to that effect.

I. All that remains of the first stanza is the endings of the first three lines, and more than half of the second stanza is also lost.

16.Moun.Forms such as this, e.g. ‘soun,’ ‘doun,’ ‘noun,’ ‘bounté,’ and the ‘-oun’ terminations in xxi. and elsewhere, usually appear with ‘o̅n̅’ in the MS. Note however that ‘noun’ is written fully in xxi. ll. 25, 27.

17.voldroit: a common use of the conditional in our author, cp.Mir.l. 25. Here it is answered by the future ‘averai.’ The meaning seems to be ‘If God should put an end to my happiness and to my life at once, my faith being unbroken, I should be content; but meanwhile I remain true to thee always, whatever may befall.’

II. 4.q’il s’esjoiera.The Roxb. editor gave by mistake ‘qils’ for ‘qil,’ out of which Dr. Stengel produces ‘qil ssesjoiera,’ with the remark ‘Verdoppelung anlautender Consonanten nach vocalischem Auslaut auch sonst häufig.’ The passages to which he refers in support of this curious statement are ix. l. 13, where the Roxb. edition has ‘tanquil lest’ by pure mistake for ‘tanquil sest,’ and ix. l. 31, where he has chosen to make ‘un ssi’ out of ‘uns si.’ This shows the danger of constructing a theory without ascertaining the facts.

9.come.Dr. Stengel is not right in proposing to read ‘com’ for‘come’ and ‘ou’ for ‘ove,’ wherever the words occur. These words regularly count as monosyllables for the metre, but the author much more commonly wrote them with the final ‘-e.’ Occasionally we have ‘com’ in theBalades(twice for instance in this stanza), and once in theMirourwe have ‘ou’ for ‘ove’ (l. 8376). Similarly ‘povere,’ ‘yvere,’ are regularly dissyllables by slurring of the medial ‘e,’ and are occasionally written ‘povre,’ ‘yvre.’ On the other hand ‘ore’ is sometimes a dissyllable, asBal.xxviii. 1, and sometimes a monosyllable, asMir.37, 1775, &c., and some words such as ‘averai,’ ‘overaigne,’ ‘yveresce,’ vary between the longer and the shorter form.

12.com: so in MS., wrongly ‘come’ in Roxb. edition, which also has ‘viveet’ wrongly for ‘vive et’ of the MS.

23.Et pensetz, dame.An additional weak syllable is occasionally found at the caesura in this metre: cp. xix. l. 20, xxiii. l. 14, xxv. l. 8, &c., xxxiii. l. 10, xxxviii. l. 23, xliv. l. 8, xlvi. l. 15,Trait.ii. l. 5, &c. In every case the additional syllable is at a break after the second foot (epic caesura). It may be a question, however, whether ‘dame’ should not be taken as a monosyllable in some cases: see Introd. p. xxx.

III. 1.celle, used for the definite article: see note onMir.301.

peigne: this form of spelling does not indicate any difference in pronunciation, for the rhymes ‘pleine,’ ‘meine,’ are used to correspond with it in the next stanza. It is intended to produce visible conformity with the verb ‘compleigne,’ to which it rhymes, and so in l. 15 we have ‘halteigne’ pairing with ‘atteigne.’ The verbal ending ‘eigne’ rhymes regularly with ‘eine’ both in the French and English of our author, and the ‘g’ often falls out of the spelling.

10.Milfoitz: one word in the MS.; so ‘millfoitz’ ix. l. 10.

IIII. 3.s’ad fait unir, ‘has united itself’: see note onMir.1135.

4.As toutz jours mais: cp.Mir.2856.

11.sufficaunce: endings of this kind represent the MS. ‘-a̅n̅ce,’ cp. note on i. l. 16.

16.la: so in the MS. The Roxb. ed. gives ‘sa’ by mistake.

IIII*. The number is repeated by inadvertence, so that the whole series consists really of fifty-one balades, apart from the religious dedication at the end and the Envoy.

4.Por toi cherir: see note onMir.6328. The address in the second person singular is unusual in theBaladesand hardly occurs except here and in the contemptuously hostile pieces, xli-xliii.

11.dont, answering to ‘auci’: see note onMir.217.

17.tes: see Glossary under ‘ton’: cp. ‘vos amis,’ ix. l. 5.

22. The MS. has ‘De,’ as Dr. Stengel has rightly conjectured.

V. 19.a tant: cp. vi. l. 16 andMir.23953.

Margin:d’amont jesqes enci, ‘from the beginning up to this point: ‘d’amour’ is a mistake of the Roxb. editor.

VI. 6 f.par quoi, &c., ‘wherefore mine eye hath desire, to the end that I may see again your presence,’ i.e. desires to see, &c.

VII. 6.l’estre, ‘habitation,’ i.e. place of abode. ‘I desire your country as my dwelling-place.’

7.Come cil qui: cp. xi. l. 16, and see note onMir.27942.

9. Cp.Mir.5822.

24.Qe jeo n’ai plus, &c., a variation of the form of expression used in xviii. l. 8 f. and common in our author: seeMir.18589. Usually the ‘plus’ of the second clause answers to some such word as ‘tiel’ in the first.

VIII. 17.retenue, ‘engagement’ to follow or serve: cp. xv. l. 14.

IX. 6. The ‘trescentier’ of the Roxb. edition is a mistake.

16.en voie: see ‘envoie’ in Glossary.

24.sicom jeo songeroie: conditional for subjunctive: cp.Mir.25.

36.demorir, ‘remain.’ Dr. Stengel wrongly alters to ‘de morir,’ which is nonsense.

37.poestis: cp.Mir.1222.

41.au droit devis: see note onMir.83.

X. 2. The reading ‘jour’ for ‘jeo’ in this line is simply a mistake of the Roxb. editor.

5.Maisqu’il vous pleust, ‘provided that it might please you,’ pret. subj.: ‘maisque’ in this sense is used either with indicative or subjunctive, cp. xi. l. 8, xxiii. l. 10, &c.

7.Q’avoir porrai, ‘so that I may have’: cp.Mir.364.

13.s’allie, ‘binds itself (to you).’

XI. 5.pour sercher le monde: cp. xxi. l. 18, andMir.25240.

23.perestes.The reading ‘par estes’ is a mistake; the MS. has ‘pestes,’ which might be eitherperestesorparestes, butperestoccurs written out fully inMir.1760, 2546.

dangerouse, ‘reluctant to love’: see note on xii. l. 8.

XII. 1. Perhaps the author wrote ‘Ma,’ but the scribe (or rather the illuminator) gives ‘La.’

Chalandre: cp.Mir.10707 ff.

8.Danger.This name represents in the love-jargon of the day those elements which are unfavourable to the lover’s acceptance by his mistress, partly no doubt external obstacles, but chiefly those feelings in the lady’s own mind which tend towards prudence or prompt to disdain. In theRoman de la Rose, which was the most influential example of this kind of allegory, Danger is the chief guardian of the rose-bush. He has for his helpers Malebouche, who spreads unfavourable reports of the lover, with Honte and Paour, who represent the feelings excited in the lady’s mind leading her to resist his advances.Of these helpers the most valiant is Honte, daughter of Raison and Mesfait. These all are the adversaries of the Lover and of Bel-Acueil his friend and helper. SeeRom. de la Rosell. 2837 ff. Elsewhere the word ‘dangier’ is used for the scornfulness in love of Narcissus,Rom. de la Rose1498,

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