The Poetical Works of Skelton, Volume 2 (of 2)

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The relucent mirror[117] for all Prelats and Presidents, as well spirituall as temporall, sadly to loke vpon, deuised in English by Skelton.

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Dixit alludens, immo illudens, paradoxam de asino aureo galerato.

xxxiiii.

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Page 1. “Indeed if he well weighed that Epitaph of King Edward the fourth, made by Skelton, which I find inserted amongst the vnprinted Workes of Lydgate, he would be more modest in this kinde.” Qvaternio, 1633, p. 239, by Nash, who cites a considerable portion of this poem from a MS.—Lydgate could not have been alive at the period of Edward’s decease: see Warton’s Hist. of E.P. ii. 51. ed. 4to. (note), Ritson’s Bibl. Poet., &c.

Edward the Fourth died April 9th, 1483, in the 41st year of his age and the 23d of his reign: see Sir H. Nicolas’s Chron. of Hist. pp. 325, 349, sec. ed. These lines were probably composed soon after the king’s death—per Skeltonidem laureatum having been subsequently added to the title.

v. 8. lykynge] i. e. joy, pleasure.

Page 2. v. 22. a chery fayre] If this is to be understood as cherry-fair (which I think doubtful), the line ought to be pointed,

The first of the following parallel passages is cited by Richardson in his Dict. under Cherry (as also from the same work of Gower,

and Mr. Halliwell has obligingly forwarded to me a letter from one of his friends, who states that “cherry-wakes or cherry-fairs used not long since to be held in Worcestershire on Sunday-evenings after divine service, and that in his own village there were three in the season, one for the early cherries, and two others for those of later growth.”

Page 2. v. 28. to contribute Fraunce] i. e. to take tribute of France. In 1475 Edward withdrew from France with his army on condition that Louis should pay him immediately 75 thousand crowns, settle on him an annuity for life of 50 thousand more, &c. See Lingard’s Hist. of Engl. v. 303. ed. 8vo.

v. 35. as who sayth] A not unfrequent expression in our early poetry, equivalent to—as one may say, as the saying is.

Page 3. v. 37. I se wyll, they leve that doble my ȝeris] i. e. I see well, that they live that double my years.

v. 38. This dealid this world] i. e. Thus dealed this world. Skelton elsewhere, like many of our old poets, uses this for thus; as in his Ware the Hauke;

v. 40. Had I wyst] i. e. Had I known,—the exclamation of one who repents of a thing done unadvisedly. It is very common in our early poetry. In The Paradyse of daynty deuises, 1576, the second copy of verses is entitled Beware of had I wyst.

v. 52. occupy] i. e. possess,—or, rather, use: “Surgyons occupy oyntmentes, &c., Vulnarii medici vtuntur,” &c. Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. I. vi. ed. 1530.

v. 53. I made the Tower stronge] “Edward iv ... fortified the Tower, and made it strong.” Stow’s Survey, B. i. 79. ed. 1720.

v. 54. I purchased Tetersall] I have not found elsewhere any mention of Edward the Fourth having possessed Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire. “It does not appear into whose hands the Tattershall estate fell after the death of the Lord Treasurer Cromwell [in 1455], until the year 1487, when Henry VII. granted the manor to his mother Margaret Countess of Richmond,” &c. Hist. of the County of Lincoln, ii. 73.

v. 55. I amendid Douer] “K. Edw. iv., by the advice of Lord Cobham, expended 10,000l. in repairing and fortifying the several works, and beautifying the apartments in it [Dover Castle].” Hasted’s Hist. of Kent, iv. 63.

Page 3. v. 56. And London I prouoked to fortify the wall]—prouoked, i. e. incited, caused.—“In the Seventeenth of Edward iv., Ralph Josceline, Maior, caused part of the Wall about the City to be repaired, to wit, between Aldgate and Aldersgate,” &c. Stow’s Survey, B. I. 10. ed. 1720.

v. 57. I made Notingam a place full royall] Leland, describing Nottingham Castle, says; “But the moste bewtifullest Part and gallant Building for lodgyng is on the Northe side, wher Edward the 4. began a right sumptuus pece of Stone Work, of the which he clerely finichid one excellent goodly Toure of 3. Hightes yn Building, and brought up the other Part likewise from the Foundation with Stone and mervelus fair cumpacid Windoes to layyng of the first soyle for Chambers and ther lefte.” Itin. i. 107. ed. 1770.

v. 58. Wyndsore] “The present magnificent fabrick [St. George’s Chapel at Windsor], which exhibits one of the most beautiful specimens in this or any other kingdom, of that richly ornamented species of architecture, which prevailed towards the close of the fifteenth and the commencement of the 16th century, was begun by King Edward IV., who having found it necessary to take down the old chapel on account of its decayed state, resolved to build another on the same site, upon a larger scale, and committed the superintendence of the building to Richard Beauchamp, bishop of Salisbury. The work was not completed till the reign of King Henry VIII.,” &c. Lysons’s Berkshire, p. 424: see too p. 468 of the same volume.—An account of the manors, &c., granted by Edward to Windsor College, will be found in Pote’s Hist. of Wind. Castle, p. 107.

—— Eltam] “K. Edw. iv. repaired this house [Eltham Palace] with much cost, and inclosed Horne-Park,” &c. Hasted’s Hist. of Kent, i. 51.

Page 4. v. 64. solas] i. e. sport, amusement.

v. 66. Lady Bes] Edward married, May 1st, 1464, the Lady Elizabeth Grey, widow of Sir John Grey, and daughter of Wydevile Lord Rivers by Jacquetta (or Jacqueline) Duchess of Bedford.

v. 70. But Windsore alone, now I haue no mo]—mo, i. e. more.—“He [Edward IV.] lies buried at Windsor, in the new Chappel (whose Foundation himself had laid, being all the Works of Piety by him left) under a Monument of Steel, polish’d and gilt, [iron gilt—see Lysons’s Berkshire, p. 210.], representing a Pair of Gates, betwixt Two Towers, all of curious transparent Workmanship after the Gothick Manner, which is placed in the North-Arch, faced through with Touch-Stone, near to the High-Altar.” Sandford’s Geneal. Hist. p. 413. ed. 1707.

Page 4. v. 73.

—stercorry, i. e. dung: frete, i. e. eat, devour: heare, i. e. hair.—In cap. iii. of Meditationes piissimæ de cognitione humanæ conditionis, a piece attributed to Saint Bernard, we find, “Nihil aliud est homo, quam sperma fœtidum, saccus stercorum, cibus vermium.... Cur ergo superbis homo.... Quid superbis pulvis et cinis,” &c. Bernardi Opp. ii. 335-36. ed. 1719. In a Rythmus de contemptu mundi, attributed to the same saint, are these lines;

(This Rythmus is printed by Mr. Wright among The Latin Poems attributed to Walter Mapes, p. 147.) So also Lydgate in a poem on the mutability of human affairs;

—of wyt the well: so in Cæsar Augustus;

“Of witt art thou the welle.”—Townely Mysteries, p. 68.

v. 85. I haue played my pageyond] i. e. I have played my pageant,—my part on the stage of life. Compare

“To playe this parte or padgeant.” Palsgrave’s Acolastus, 1540, sig. S.—The word pageant was originally applied to the temporary erections (sometimes placed upon wheels) on which miracle-plays were exhibited, afterwards to the exhibition itself. See Sharp’s Diss. on Coventry Pag. and Myst., p. 2; Collier’s Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poet., ii. 151.

Page 4. v. 86. yeld] i. e. eld, age.

Page 5. v. 87. This] i. e. Thus: see note on v. 38.

Page 6. v. 3. leonis] See note on v. 109 of next poem.

This elegy must have been written soon after the earl’s murder: see v. 162.—“The subject of this poem ... is the death of Henry Percy, fourth earl of Northumberland, who fell a victim to the avarice of Henry vii. In 1489 the parliament had granted the king a subsidy for carrying on the war in Bretagne. This tax was found so heavy in the North, that the whole country was in a flame. The E. of Northumberland, then lord lieutenant for Yorkshire, wrote to inform the king of the discontent, and praying an abatement. But nothing is so unrelenting as avarice: the king wrote back that not a penny should be abated. This message being delivered by the earl with too little caution, the populace rose, and, supposing him to be the promoter of their calamity, broke into his house, and murdered him, with several of his attendants, who yet are charged by Skelton with being backward in their duty on this occasion. This melancholy event happened at the earl’s seat at Cocklodge, near Thirske, in Yorkshire, April 28, 1489. See Lord Bacon, &c. If the reader does not find much poetical merit in this old poem (which yet is one of Skelton’s best [?]), he will see a striking picture of the state and magnificence kept up by our ancient nobility during the feudal times. This great earl is described here as having, among his menial servants, KNIGHTS, SQUIRES, and even BARONS: see v. 32, 183, &c., which, however different from modern manners, was formerly not unusual with our greater Barons, whose castles had all the splendour and offices of a royal court, before the Laws against Retainers abridged and limited the number of their attendants.” Percy.

Page 6. v. 4. Of the bloud royall descending nobelly] “The mother of Henry, first Earl of Northumberland, was Mary daughter to Henry E. of Lancaster, whose father Edmond was second son of K. Henry iii. The mother and wife of the second Earl of Northumberland were both lineal descendants of K. Edward iii. The Percys also were lineally descended from the Emperour Charlemagne and the ancient Kings of France, by his ancestor Josceline de Lovain (son of Godfrey Duke of Brabant), who took the name of Percy on marrying the heiress of that house in the reign of Hen. ii. Vid. Camdeni Britan., Edmondson, &c.” Percy.

v. 6. again] i. e. against.

Page 7. v. 14. Elyconys] i. e. Helicon’s.

v. 16. astate] i. e. estate, high rank.

v. 20. nobles] i. e. nobless, nobleness.

v. 21. dites] i. e. ditties.

v. 24. hastarddis] “i. e. perhaps, hasty, rash fellows.” Percy.—Jamieson gives “Hastard. Irascible.” Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang.

—— tene] i. e. wrath.

v. 26. Confetered] i. e. Confederated.

v. 27. slee] i. e. slay.

v. 30. ken] i. e. know.

v. 34. karlis of kind] i. e. churls by nature.

v. 35. slo] i. e. slay.

Page 8. v. 40. bode] i. e. abode.

v. 41. glose] “i. e. set a false gloss or colour.” Percy.

v. 43. redouted] i. e. dreaded.

v. 45. great estates] i. e. persons of great estate or rank.

—— lowted] i. e. bowed, made obeisance.

v. 46. mayny] i. e. train, company, set.

v. 48. paues] i. e. shield (properly a large shield covering the body).

v. 49. mot] i. e. may.

v. 51. fyll] i. e. fell.

v. 53. agayne] i. e. against.

v. 59. worshyp] i. e. honour, respectability.

v. 62. againe] i. e. against (and so in the next line).

v. 63. slee] i. e. slay.

Page 9. v. 71. fals packing] i. e. false dealing (packing is—iniquitous combination, collusion, for evil purposes, for deceiving, &c.).

v. 73. occupied] i. e. used: see note, p. 86, v. 52.

—— shilde] i. e. shield.

v. 78. renyed] i. e. refused.

v. 81. buskt them] “i. e. prepared themselves, made themselves ready.” Percy. Rather,—hied.

Page 9. v. 81. bushment] i. e. ambushment.

—— baile] i. e. sorrow, trouble.

v. 82. Againe] i. e. Against.

—— wring] “i. e. contend with violence.” Percy.

v. 84. forsed] i. e. regarded.

v. 87. Presed] i. e. Pressed.

v. 88. faught them agagne] i. e. fought against them.

Page 10. v. 96. whose] i. e. whoso.

v. 98. sort] i. e. set, band.

v. 100. wode] i. e. frantic, wild.

v. 102. gode] i. e. good.

v. 106. spylt] i. e. destroyed.

v. 109. The myghty lyon] “Alluding to his crest and supporters.” Percy.

—— doutted] i. e. dreaded.

v. 115. shoke] i. e. shook.

Page 11. v. 118. mysuryd] “i. e. misused, applied to a bad purpose.” Percy.

v. 123. sleest] i. e. slayest.

v. 125. enharpit of mortall drede] “i. e. hooked, or edged with mortal dread.” Percy.

v. 126. kit] i. e. cut.

v. 128. aureat] i. e. golden, excellent.

—— ellumynynge] i. e. embellishing.

v. 131. fuyson] i. e. abundance.

v. 134. Paregall] i. e. Equal (thoroughly equal).

v. 135. Surmountinge] i. e. Surpassing.

v. 136. reporte me] i. e. refer.

v. 142. enkankered] i. e. corroded.

v. 143. worshiply] i. e. honourably.

v. 145. supprised] i. e. overpowered, smitten.

—— lust] i. e. liking, desire.

Page 12. v. 151. Tretory] i. e. Traitory, treachery.

v. 152. holl] i. e. whole.

v. 154. sle] i. e. slay.

v. 155. hole quere] i. e. whole quire.

v. 160. holy] i. e. wholly.

v. 162. yonge lyon] See note on v. 109. The fifth Earl of Northumberland was only eleven years old at his father’s death.

v. 166. Agayn] i. e. Against.

v. 172. faytors] “i. e. deceivers, dissemblers.” Percy.—“Faytoure, Fictor, Simulator.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

Page 12. v. 176. chere] i. e. countenance, or (as it may mean here) spirit.

Page 13. v. 179. Algife] i. e. Although.

—— thorow saught] i. e. sought through.

v. 181. complayne] i. e. lament for.

v. 186. worshyply] i. e. honourably.

v. 195. finaunce] i. e. fine, forfeiture.

v. 196. from the fendys pray] “i. e. from being the prey of the fiends.” Percy.

v. 199. eterminable] i. e. interminable.

Page 14. v. 212. hole sorte] i. e. whole company.

v. 213. mot] i. e. may.

—— ad magistrum Rukshaw] The person here addressed was perhaps “William Rowkshaw, priest,” by whom a letter, dated from the Gilbertine priory of Watton in the east riding of Yorkshire, is printed among the Plumpton Correspondence, p. 82. Camd. Soc. ed.

Page 15. Coystrowne (which Skelton uses again in his poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c., v. 171. vol. ii. 73., and has Latinized in his Speke, Parot, v. 125. vol. ii. 7.) is written by Chaucer quistron;

Urry renders it—a beggar (Fr. questeur); but Tyrwhitt observes, “I rather believe it signifies a scullion, un garçon de cuisine.” Gloss. to C.T.—Douce says that Tyrwhitt’s explanation is correct, citing the words “un quistron de sa cusyne” from the prose French chronicle of the Brut of England, and Caxton’s version of them, “a knave of his kychen.” See Gloss. to Weber’s Met. Rom.—Roquefort has “Questron: bâtard, enfant d’une prostituée.” Gloss. de la Lang. Rom.—In Scottish poetry custroun occurs several times: see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. and Suppl., where are various conjectures on the derivation and meaning of the word.

In Prompt. Parv. we find “Cowntryn in songe. Occento.” ed. 1499. To counter is properly—to sing an extemporaneous part upon the plain chant. Skelton uses the word in other places, and perhaps not always in its strict sense.

v. 4.

Snapper is commonly explained—stumble; but Palsgrave makes a distinction between the words: “I Snapper as a horse dothe that tryppeth, Ie trippette. My horse dyd nat stumble he dyd but snapper a lytell, Mon cheual ne choppyt poynt il ne fit que tripetter vng petit.” Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccclxv. (Table of Verbes.)—Compare the following lines;

Page 15. v. 6. prendergest] A word (probably the origin of the surname Prendergast) which I am unable to explain.

v. 8. bayardys bun] i. e. horse-loaf, a sort of bread formerly much used for feeding horses: bayard is, properly, a bay horse.

v. 9. sumdele] i. e. somewhat.

v. 11. maunchet] Properly, a small loaf of fine white bread.

—— morell] Properly, a dark-coloured, a black horse.

v. 13. carp] Which generally means—speak, talk,—is sometimes found applied to music, and here, perhaps, is equivalent to—make a noise.

v. 14. Lo, Jak wold be a jentylman!] So in Heywood’s Dialogue;

“Iacke would be a gentleman, if he could speake French.”

Sig. D 2,—Workes, ed. 1598.

See also Ray’s Proverbs, p. 124. ed. 1768.

v. 15.

Hey, troly, loly, Ritson observes, is a chorus or burden “of vast antiquity;” see Anc. Songs, ii. 8. ed. 1829: counter; see note on title of the poem: knak, i. e. triflingly, or affectedly shew off his skill in singing about, &c. In A very mery and Pythie Commedie, called The longer thou liuest, the more foole than art, &c. Newly compiled by W. Wager, 4to. n. d. (written in the early part of Elizabeth’s reign), Moros sings, among other fragments of songs,

and in a comparatively recent drama we find;

Martin Swart, “a noble man in Germany, and in marciall feactes verye expert,” (Hall’s Chron. (Henry VII.) fol. ix. ed. 1548), headed the auxiliaries sent by the Duchess of Burgundy with Lambert Simnel, and fell, fighting with great valour, at the battle of Stoke.

Page 15. v. 19. pohen] i. e. pea-hen.

Page 16. v. 21. An holy water clarke] Aquæbajulus; an office generally mentioned with contempt.

v. 23. solfyth to haute] i. e. solfas too haughtily,—highly.

v. 25. to sharp is hys my] “The syllable Mi used in solmisation.” Hawkins’s Hist. of Music, iii. 41.

v. 26. pyrdewy] Compare Hycke Scorner;

and Colkelbie Sow;

v. 27. besy] i. e. busy.

v. 29. a lewde lewte] i. e. a vile lute.

—— Roty bully joyse] “The initial words of some old song.” Hawkins’s Hist. of Music, iii. 41.—In our author’s Magnyfycence, Courtly Abusyon exclaims,

Perhaps the same air is alluded to in Colkelbie Sow;

v. 33. and he wyst] i. e. if he knew.

v. 34. sped] i. e. versed.

—— tauellys] “Tauell an instrument for a sylke woman to worke with.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxix. (Table of Subst.)

v. 36. a payre of clauycordys] i. e. a clavichord (so, formerly, an organ was called a pair of organs); of which see an engraving in Hawkins’s Hist. of Music, ii. 443.

v. 43. jet] Is explained in modern dictionaries—strut.—“I Get I vse a proude countenaunce and pace in my goyng, Ie braggue.” “I Iette with facyon and countenaunce to set forthe myselfe, Ie braggue.” “I Go a iettynye or a ryottynge, Ie raude.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fols. ccxlvi, cclxv, ccli. (Table of Verbes.)

Page 16. v. 47. dumpys] i. e. dumps.

v. 48. prycke songe] i. e. music pricked or noted down; when opposed (see v. 54) to plain song, it meant counter-point, as distinguished from mere melody.

v. 49. a larg and a long] Characters in old music: one large contained two longs, one long two breves, &c.

v. 50. iape] i. e. jest, joke.

v. 51. solayne] i. e. sullen.

Page 17. v. 53. fayne] Palsgrave gives, “I feyne in syngyng, Ie chante a basse voyx. We maye nat synge out we are to nere my lorde, but lette vs fayne this songe,” &c. Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccxxxv. (Table of Verbes.) But here, I apprehend, fayne can only mean—sing in falsetto. Our author, in The Bowge of Courte, has

v. 55. Thys docter Deuyas commensyd in a cart] So again Skelton in his Colyn Cloute,

Compare a much later writer: “What, a graue Doctor, a base Iohn Doleta the Almanack-maker, Doctor Deuse-ace and Doctor Merryman?” Nash’s Haue with you to Saffron-Walden, 1596. sig. L 3.—commensyd, i. e. who took his degree.

v. 60. ne] i. e. nor.

v. 61. wark] i. e. work, business.

v. 62. walk, and be nought!] Equivalent to—away, and a mischief on you!

v. 68. Take thys in worth] “I Take in worthe or I take in good worthe, Ie prens en gré.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccclxxxiiii. (Table of Verbes.)

v. 69. Wryten at Croydon by Crowland in the Clay] Concerning this line, the Rev. Joseph Hunter has obligingly remarked to me: “I was in hope of finding ‘Croydon by Crowland in the Clay’ by looking in Ingulphus and his Continuator, where all the places are mentioned in which the Abbey of Crowland (Croyland) had estates. No such name as Croydon appears; and as it is not in Speed’s maps, I see little chance of meeting with the place so called by Skelton. It would be a very bold emendation to read,—

‘Wryten in Hoyland by Crowland in the Clay:’

the parts of Lincolnshire in which Crowland is situated are called Holland or formerly Hoylande.”—To G. Steinman Steinman, Esq., author of the Hist. of Croydon, I am indebted for the following observations: “The passage has been a puzzle to me. The distance is very great between Crowland and Croydon in Cambridgeshire; and in Croydon in Surrey there is no such place as Crowland, though I can point out to you ‘the Clays’ there. The manor of Crouham is in the Surrey Croydon, but far away from ‘the Clays.’”

Page 18. Qd] i. e. Quod, quoth.

couenable, i. e. befitting: sentence, i. e. sense, meaning. The pointing perhaps ought to be thus;—“in Englysh couenable, in sentence commendable,” &c.

v. 13. shyderyd] i. e. split, splintered.

v. 18. fell] i. e. skin.

Page 19. v. 24. mell] i. e. meddle.

v. 29.

Checkmate, the term at chess when the king is made prisoner, and the game consequently finished, is often used figuratively by our early writers. With the present lines compare the following passages:

“But she had taken suche cold for the defaute of helpe that depe draughtes of deth toke her, that nedes she must dye,” &c. Morte d’Arthur, B. viii. c. i. vol. i. 247. ed. Southey.

v. 36. brynnyng] i. e. burning.

v. 40. rew] i. e. have pity.

v. 43. shylde] i. e. shield.

v. 45. dyne] i. e. dun, dark.

v. 46. boteles bale] i. e. remediless sorrow.

v. 48. fendys blake] i. e. fiends black.

v. 54. solace] i. e. pleasure.

Page 20. v. 4. recheles] i. e. reckless.

v. 6. draffe] i. e. refuse: in our author’s Elynour Rummyng, v. 171. vol. i. 100, it means hog-wash,—the coarse liquor, or brewers’ grains, with which swine are fed.

Page 20. v. 13. pohen] i. e. peahen.

v. 18. auayle] i. e. advantage, profit.

v. 19. shayle] Is several times used by Skelton. “Schayler that gothe awrie with his fete boytevx.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxi. (Table of Subst.) “I Shayle as a man or horse dothe that gothe croked with his legges: Ie vas eschays. It is to late to beate him for it nowe, he shal shayle as longe as he lyueth ... il yra eschays ... I Shayle with the fete, Ientretaille des pieds.” Id. fol. cccxlviii. (Table of Verbes). “A shayle with yᵉ knees togyther and the fete outwarde: A eschays.” Id. fol. ccccxxxvii. (Table of Aduerbes).

v. 20. pyggysny] “The Romans,” says Tyrwhitt, “used oculus as a term of endearment, and perhaps piggesnie, in vulgar language, only means ocellus; the eyes of that animal being remarkably small.” Note on Chaucer’s Cant. Tales, v. 3268.—In confirmation of this etymology, Todd (Johnson’s Dict. in v. Pigsney) has shewn that the word was occasionally written pigs eie.

v. 21. quyte] i. e. requite.

Page 21. v. 26. doute] i. e. fear.

v. 28. all beshrewde] i. e. altogether cursed.

v. 29. that farly swete] i. e. that strange sweet one.

v. 30. wonnes] i. e. dwells.

—— Temmys strete] i. e. Thames’ street.

solacyous] i. e. pleasant, amusing.

Page 22. v. 2. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 4. hardely] i. e. boldly, with confidence.

v. 7. kepe] i. e. heed, regard, care.

v. 8.

i. e. With kissings,—with, kiss me.

v. 10. wyst] i. e. knew.

v. 11. He had forgoten all dedely syn] Compare our author’s Phyllyp Sparowe, v. 1080. vol. i. 84.

v. 13. He trusted her payment, and lost all hys pray] In the note below the text I inconsiderately queried if “pray” should be “pay.” Compare the last of Skelton’s Poems against Garnesche;

Page 22. v. 15. rowth] i. e. rough.

—— waters wan] Many passages of our early poetry might be cited where this epithet is applied to water: see note on Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 887, where a wrong reading has misled H. Tooke and Richardson.

v. 18. halsyd] i. e. embraced (round the neck).

v. 19. cought] i. e. caught.

Page 23. v. 20. lefe] i. e. dear.

—— rowtyth] i. e. snoreth.

v. 21. I wys] i. e. truly, certainly (i-wis, adv.).

v. 23. lust and lykyng] “Luste pleasure delyt ... volupté.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlvi. (Table of Subst.): lykyng; see note, p. 85. v. 8. This somewhat pleonastic expression (used again more than once by Skelton) is not uncommon in our old writers: “Allas my swete sones thenne she sayd, for your sakes I shalle lese my lykynge and lust.” Morte d’Arthur, B. xi. c. x. vol. ii. 174. ed. Southey. Nay, in the interlude of The Worlde and the Chylde, 1522, one of the characters bears the name of Lust and Lykynge.

v. 24. blowboll] “Blowbole yuroigne.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xx. (Table of Subst.).

Among the contents of MS. Rawlinson marked C. 86., Bodl. Libr., is a ludicrous poem entitled Colyne Blowbols Testament: see Sir F. Madden’s Introd. to Syr Gawayne, &c. p. lxvi.

v. 25. luggard] i. e. heavy fellow, sluggard.

v. 28. powle hachet] So again in our author’s Garlande of Laurell;

—— bleryd thyne I] (I—eye) i. e. imposed on, put a cheat on you.

Qd.] i. e. Quod, quoth.

v. 4. pastaunce] i. e. pastime.

v. 7. corage] i. e. heart.

Page 23. v. 8. fauorable] i. e. well-favoured, beautiful.

v. 11. Menolope] In a “ballade” entitled The IX. Ladies Woorthie, printed among Chaucer’s Workes, the writer, after celebrating the eighth, “Quene Semiramys,” concludes thus;

Compare Hawes;

v. 16. curtoyl] i. e. curtal.

—— set nowght by] i. e. set no value, or regard, on.

Page 24. v. 17.

morell; see note, p. 93. v. 11.—Gup and jayst are exclamations applied to horses; compare our author’s Elynour Rummyng, v. 390. vol. i. 107., and his third Poem against Garnesche, v. 13. vol. i. 120. So too in Camelles Rejoindre to Churchyarde (fol. broadside);

v. 19. corage] i. e. heart, affection, inclination.

—— haggys] I know not in what sense Skelton uses this word: so again in his Colyn Cloute;

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

v. 20. Haue in sergeaunt ferrour] i. e. Bring in sergeant farrier. “Ferrour. Ferrarius. Ferrator.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. The title sergeant belongs properly to certain of the king’s servants: so in an unpublished Liber Excerpt. Temp. Hen. vii. et Hen. viii. in the Chapter-house, Westminster;

(xix. of Hen. vii.)

“Item payd to the sergeant plummer and bartram opon their indentures for grenewiche

xxli.”

Page 24. v. 23. keylyth] i. e. (perhaps) cooleth—but I do not understand the passage.

v. 24. neuer a dele] i. e. not a bit.

v. 25. wrenche] “Wrenche, a wyle gauche, ruse.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxxvi. (Table of Subst.).

v. 30. dyntes] i. e. blows.

v. 31. He bresyth theyr braynpannys] i. e. He bruiseth, breaketh their skulls, heads: “Pan of the hede. Cranium.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 32. all to-brokyn] A writer in the new ed. of Boucher’s Gloss. (in v. All) justly observes that it is a mistake to suppose that in such expressions all is coupled with to, and that it becomes equivalent to omnino from being thus conjoined. The augmentative to is connected with the following word as a prefix, and often occurs without being preceded by all: so in our author’s Bowge of Courte,

—— clappys] i. e. strokes.

v. 33. to lepe the hach] i. e. to run away:—(hatch—the fastened half or part of the door, the half-door).

v. 34. By theyr conusaunce knowing how they serue a wily py] Conusaunce is cognizance,—a badge worn by servants; py is magpie: there seems to be some allusion to armorial bearings.

v. 36. It can be no counsell that is cryed at the cros] i. e. It can be no secret that is proclaimed at the market-place.

v. 38. furst] i. e. first.

—— los] May mean loss, but, rather, it would seem, “Loos or bad name. Infamia.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 39. warke] i. e. work.

Qd] i. e. Quod, quoth.

Page 25. v. 3. Corage wyth lust] See notes, p. 98. v. 23., p. 99. v. 19: but the whole stanza is very obscure.

v. 7. surmountyng] i. e. surpassing.

v. 8. Allectuary] i. e. Electuary.

—— arrectyd] i. e. perhaps, considered sovereign; to arrect is to impute: or it may simply mean—raised up; our author’s Garlande of Laurell begins

—— redres] i. e. relieve, remedy.

v. 9. axys] i. e. fits, paroxysms.

In some parts of England and Scotland access is still used to denote the ague.—Lest any reader should think this note unnecessarily long, I may observe that in two recently published works the word “axes” is erroneously explained,—aches.

Page 25. v. 10. Of thoughtfull hertys plungyd in dystres] Skelton borrowed this line from Lydgate, whose Lyf of our Lady begins

In the Bibl. Poet. p. 82, Ritson gives these words as the commencement of a poem by Lydgate, Cott. Ap. viii., not knowing that this reference is to a MS. of the Lyf of our Lady.—Thoughtfull is anxious, heavy, sad.

v. 13. Herber] Warton appears to limit the signification of this word in old poetry to “an herbary for furnishing domestic medicines,” which, says he, “always made a part of our ancient gardens;” note on Hist. of E. P. ii. 231. ed. 4to. But Jamieson observes, that it would seem to be used for arbour by James I., Kings Quair, ii. 12, 13., and in the romance of Sir Egeir, v. 356. Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. (in v. Herbere). See also The Flower and the Leaf, and The Complaint of the Black Knight, by Chaucer.

v. 14. lusty somer] i. e. pleasant summer.

v. 16. ruddys] i. e. ruddy tints of the cheek, complexion.

v. 17. Saphyre of sadnes]—sadnes, i. e. steadiness, constancy:

—— enuayned with indy blew] enuayned, i. e. enveined. “Inde. Fr., Azure-coloured.” Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales. “Inde, ynde: couleur de bleu foncé, d’azur, indicum.” Roquefort’s Gloss. de la Lang. Rom. So again our author in his Magnyfycence;

See too his Garlande of Laurell, v. 478. vol. i. 381. Compare Hawes;

and Nevil, son of Lord Latimer, in a poem of great rarity;

Chaucer has

(monstrously explained in Urry’s ed. “Indian and Persian”): and Lydgate,

Sir John Mandeville says that the beak of the Phœnix “is coloured blew as ynde.” Voiage and Travaile, &c., p. 58. ed. 1725.

Page 25. v. 20. Geyne] i. e. Against.

Emeraud (emerald) and smaragd are generally considered as synonymous; but here Skelton makes a distinction between them. So too Drayton in his Muses Elizium, 1630. p. 78; and Chamberlayne in his Pharonnida, 1659. B. ii. c. 4. p. 150. And so R. Holme: “The Emrauld is green.”—“The Smaradge is of an excellent fresh green, far passing any Leaf.” Ac. of Armory, 1688. B. ii. pp. 39, 41. James I. in his Quair mentions

v. 22. perspectyue] Which generally signifies a glass to look through, seems here, from the context, to mean some sort of reflecting glass.

v. 23. Illumynyd] i. e. Adorned.

v. 26. Gayne] i. e. Against.

Page 25. v. 29. Remorse] Means commonly in early writers,—pity; but that sense is unsuited to the present passage: it seems to be used here for—remembrance, recollection.

—— most goodlyhod] i. e. perfect goodness.

v. 33. praty] i. e. pretty.

Page 26. v. 40. mastres] i. e. mistress.

v. 41. nys] i. e. ne is—is not.

v. 43. more desyrous] i. e. more desirable.

Qd] i. e. Quod, quoth.

v. 11. rede] i. e. advise.

v. 12. fals poynt] “This fals poynt ... Hæc fraus.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. s viii. ed. 1530.

v. 13. fell] i. e. skin.

Page 27. v. 15. lesard] In the Latin above, the corresponding word is anguis: long after Skelton’s time, the poor harmless lizard was reckoned venomous; so in Shakespeare’s Third Part of Henry VI., act ii. sc. 2., “lizards’ dreadful stings.”

v. 1. rasyd] i. e. torn, wounded. Skelton in his Woffully Araid has

v. 3. vaynys i. e. veins.

—— blo] i. e. livid. “Blo, blewe and grene coloured, as ones body is after a drie stroke, iaunastre.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxxxiiii. (Table of Adiect.).

v. 5. ouerthwart] i. e. cross, perverse, adverse.

v. 7. dyscure] i. e. discover.

Skelton mentions this piece among his works, in the Garlande of Laurell, v. 1198. vol. i. 409. Sir John Hawkins, who printed it together with the music, says that it “appears to have been set by William Cornish of the Chapel Royal in the reign of Henry vii.” Hist. of Music, iii. 2.

Page 28. v. 1. besherewe yow] i. e. curse you,—confound you!

—— be my fay] i. e. by my faith.

v. 2. This wanton clarkes be nyse all way] i. e. These wanton scholars be always foolish, inclined to folly, to toyish tricks: compare our author’s Phyllyp Sparowe;

Page 28. v. 3. Avent] i. e. Avaunt.

—— popagay] i. e. parrot.

v. 5. Tully valy] Or Tilly vally—an exclamation of contempt, the origin of which is doubtful.

v. 6. Gup] See note, p. 99. v. 17.

—— Cristian Clowte] Compare our author’s Colyn Cloute;

—— Jak of the vale] So our author in his Magnyfycence; “some iangelynge Jacke of the vale,” v. 260. vol. i. 234. Compare two pieces of a much later date;

v. 8. Be] i. e. By.

—— praty pode]—praty, i. e. pretty: pode, i. e., perhaps, toad. Compare Roy’s satire, Rede me, and be nott wrothe, &c.;

v. 10. Strawe, Jamys foder, ye play the fode] The meaning of Jamys foder,—and whether “fode” is used here in the sense of—deceiver, one who feeds another with words (compare our author’s Magnyfycence, v. 1719. vol. i. 281.),—I must leave the reader to determine.

v. 12. bole] i. e. (I suppose) bull.

v. 15. I wiss] i. e. truly, certainly (i-wis, adv.).

v. 17. piggesnye] See note, p. 97. v. 20.

v. 19. Be] i. e. By.

—— hardely] i. e. assuredly.

v. 20. japed bodely] See Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cclxv. (Table of Verbes); Puttenham’s Arte of English Poesie, B. iii. c. xxii. p. 212. ed. 1589; and the Prologue to the anonymous old play, Grim the Collier of Croydon.

Page 29. v. 27. thought] i. e. sadness, grief: see note, p. 101. v. 10.

“It is a bouge of courte. Ceremonia aulica est.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. s iii. ed. 1530. “Bouche à Court. Budge-a-Court, diet allowed at Court.” Cotgrave’s Dict. “The Kings Archers ... had Bouch of Court (to wit, Meat and Drink) and great Wages of six Pence by the Day.” Stow’s Survey, B. vi. 49. ed. 1720.

“The poem called the Bouge of Court, or the Rewards of a Court, is in the manner of a pageaunt, consisting of seven personifications. Here our author, in adopting the more grave and stately movement of the seven lined stanza, has shewn himself not always incapable of exhibiting allegorical imagery with spirit and dignity. But his comic vein predominates.” Warton’s Hist. of E. P., ii. 347. ed. 4to.

“Bouge of court, a corruption of bouche, Fr. An allowance of meat and drink for the tables of the inferior officers, and others who were occasionally called to serve and entertain the court. Skelton has a kind of little drama called Bouge of Court, from the name of the ship in which the dialogue takes place. It is a very severe satire, full of strong painting, and excellent poetry. The courtiers of Harry must have winced at it.” Gifford, note on Ben Jonson’s Works, vii. 428.

Page 30. v. 7. to werre hym dyde dres] i. e. did address, apply himself to war.

v. 15. rede] i. e. conceive, consider.

Page 31. v. 17. aforce] i. e. attempt.

v. 18. dyscure] i. e. discover.

v. 20. illumyne] i. e. embellish a subject.

v. 21. Auysynge] i. e. Advising.

v. 22. he so] i. e. who so.

v. 23. connynge] i. e. knowledge.

v. 30. ne wyste] i. e. knew not.

v. 31. sore enwered]—enwered means simply—wearied. Richardson (Dict. in v. En) observes that “Skelton appears to have wantoned in such compounds.”

v. 33. I me dreste] i. e. I addressed, applied myself.

v. 36.

Of this passage Mr. Wordsworth has a recollection in one of his noble Sonnets;

Page 31. v. 39. kyste] i. e. cast.

v. 40. what she had lode] i. e. what she had been freighted with.

Page 32. v. 44. prece] i. e. press,—the throng.

v. 49. hyghte] i. e. is called.

v. 50. estate] i. e. high rank, dignity.

v. 54. chaffre] i. e. merchandise.

v. 58. traues] Means here a sort of low curtain or screen.—Hall, describing the preparations for combat between the Dukes of Hereford and Norfolk, tells us that the former, having entered the lists, “set hym doune in a chayer of grene veluet whiche was set in a trauers of grene and blewe veluet,” &c.; and that the latter “satte doune in his chayer whiche was Crimosen Veluet, cortened [curtained] aboute with white and redde Damaske.” Chron. (Henry IV.) fol. iii. ed. 1548.—At a later period, curtains, which were used on the stage as substitutes for scenes, were called traverses. See also Singer’s note on Cavendish’s Life of Wolsey, p. 167. ed. 1827, and Sir H. Nicolas’s note on Privy Purse Expenses of Elizabeth of York, p. 259.

v. 60. trone] i. e. throne.

v. 61. spere] i. e. sphere.

v. 63. connynge] i. e. knowledge,—skill.

Page 33. v. 71. prese] i. e. press.

v. 72. she trowed that I had eten sause] Compare our author’s Magnyfycence;

v. 78. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 80. glome] i. e. glum,—sullen look, frown.

v. 82. daynnously] i. e. disdainfully.

—— fro me she dyde fare] i. e. from me she did go.

v. 83. mased] i. e. amazed, confounded.

v. 87. Abasshe you not] i. e. Be not abashed.

—— hardely] i. e. confidently.

v. 88. Auaunce] i. e. Advance.

v. 89. chaffer] i. e. merchandise.

v. 90. I auyse you to speke, for ony drede] i. e. I advise you to speak, notwithstanding any dread you may feel. Compare Lydgate;

Page 33. v. 92. quod] i. e. quoth.

Page 34. v. 94. And this an other] i. e. And this is another reason.

v. 95. not worth a bene] Bene (bean) is frequently used by our early poets to express any thing worthless:

v. 96. lene] i. e. lend, furnish with.

v. 100. cheuysaunce] i. e. achievement,—profit, gain.

v. 101. nys] i. e. ne is,—is not.

v. 106. werne] i. e. warn.

v. 107. styreth] i. e. steereth, directeth.

v. 108. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 114. luste] i. e. pleasure, liking.

Page 35. v. 117. casseth] “Casser ... to casse, cassere, discharge, turne out of service, deprive of entertainment.” Cotgrave’s Dict.

v. 120. route] i. e. company, crowd.

v. 122. thronge] i. e. thronged.

v. 134. Fauell] Our author in his Magnyfycence has,

Some readers need not be told how Fauel figures in Pierce Plowman. Ritson (An. Pop. Poetry, p. 77) explains the word by deceit, referring to the present passage of The Bowge of Courte; but Mason (note on Hoccleve’s Poems, p. 42) observes that here “Favel and Disceyte are distinct personages, though the latter (for the sake of rhyme,) is first called Subtylte,” and considers that Carpentier, in his Sup. to Du Cange, gives the truest explanation of Favel by Cajolerie. See also Supplement to Roquefort’s Gloss. de la Lang. Rom. in v. Favelle. The origin of the word, after all that has been written on it, seems still uncertain.

v. 137. Mysdempte] i. e. Misdeemed.

v. 138. Haruy Hafter] Eds., as already noticed, have “Haruy Haster;” and in the fourth of Skelton’s Poems against Garnesche, v. 164. vol. i. 131, the MS. gives the name with the same error. Compare our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte;

and his Magnyfycence;

The sense in which Skelton employs these words is fully illustrated by the following passages of Hormanni Vulgaria, ed. 1530: “This was a subtyle and an haftynge poynt. Astus fuit, et versatilis ingenii argumentum. He is a hafter of kynde. Est versutiæ ingenitæ homo.” sig. N vi. “A flaterynge hafter is soone espyed of a wyse man. Sedulus captator,” &c. sig. O ii. “There is nothynge more set by nowe than subtyle hafters ... callidis.” sig. O iii. “There is an haftynge poynt, or a false subtylte. Stellionatus crimen est.” sig. n iiii. “—— haftynge ... dolus malus.” sig. s viii.

Page 35. v. 138. male] i. e. bag, wallet, pouch.

Page 36. v. 143. auaunce] i. e. advance.

v. 144. solace] i. e. sport.

v. 149. connynge] i. e. knowledge.

v. 150. Deynte to haue with vs suche one in store] In Chaucer’s Clerkes Tale, v. 8988, Tyrwhitt explains (and rightly, I believe) “it was deintee”—it was a valuable thing. But both in the present passage, and in a subsequent stanza of the same poem—

“deynte” seems to be equivalent to—pleasure: compare

v. 154. it is surmountynge] i. e. it is surpassing, it excels.

v. 155. ony i. e. any.

Page 37. v. 173. lewde cok wattes]—lewde, i. e. ignorant, vile. Compare our author’s third copy of verses Against venemous tongues;

and his Magnyfycence;

Is cock wat only another form of cockward, i. e. cuckold? See Arthur and the King of Cornwall, p. 279,—Syr Gawayne, &c., edited by Sir F. Madden.

Page 37. v. 174. hardely] i. e. assuredly.

v. 175. but no worde that I sayde] i. e. but mention not a word that I said.

v. 180. reboke] i. e. belch, cast up.

v. 181. at a brayde] i. e. at a start, at a turn, on a sudden, forthwith.

v. 183. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 184. lete] i. e. hinder.

v. 186. Twyst] i. e. Tush.

—— ne reke] i. e. reck not.

v. 187. a soleyne freke]—soleyne, i. e. sullen: freke is here equivalent to—fellow. See Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v. Freik, for the various senses in which the word was used.

v. 189. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 191. whom and ha] i. e. hum and ha.

v. 193. quoke] i. e. quaked.

Page 38. v. 198. commaunde] i. e. communed, conversed.

—— party space] May mean—a short space; but (as I have noticed ad loc.) “party” is probably a misprint for “praty” (pretty).

v. 199. auowe] i. e. vow.

v. 210. auyse] i. e. advice.

v. 215. shryue me] i. e. confess myself, tell my mind.

v. 216. plenarely] i. e. fully.

v. 219. dyscure] i. e. discover.

v. 221. with all my besy cure] i. e. with all my busy care,—a common expression in our early poetry.

Page 39. v. 225. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 226. all and some] Another expression frequently used by our early poets. “All and some: Tout entierement.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxlviii. (Table of Aduerbes).

v. 228. he wolde be come] i. e. he would go.

v. 231. lyghte as lynde] So in Annunciacio;

and in Chaucer’s Clerkes Tale;

Lynde is properly the linden or lime-tree,—used for a tree in general.

Page 39. v. 232. a versynge boxe] Does it mean—a dice-box?

v. 233. fayne] See note, p. 95. v. 53.

v. 234. foxe] i. e. fox-skin.

v. 235. Sythe I am no thynge playne] i. e. Since I, &c.—the commencement of some song.

v. 236. pykynge] i. e. picking, stealing.

—— payne] i. e. difficulty.

v. 239. sadde] i. e. grave, serious.

v. 243. auowe] See note on v. 199.

v. 245. and ye wolde it reherse] i. e. if you would recite it.

Page 40. v. 252. Heue and how rombelow] A chorus of high antiquity, (sung chiefly, it would seem, by sailors):

Varied thus:

Among the songs enumerated in The Complaynt of Scotland is “Sal i go vitht zou to rumbelo fayr,” p. 101. ed. Leyden: and in Hycke Scorner mention is made of

Page 40. v. 252. row the bote, Norman, rowe!] A fragment of an old song, the origin of which is thus recorded by Fabyan: “In this. xxxii. yere [of King Henry the Sixth] Jhon Norman foresaid, vpon the morowe of Simon and Judes daie, thaccustomed day when the newe Maior vsed yerely to ride with greate pompe vnto westminster to take his charge, this Maior firste of all Maiors brake that auncient and olde continued custome, and was rowed thither by water, for the whiche yᵉ Watermen made of hym a roundell or song to his greate praise, the whiche began: Rowe the bote Norman, rowe to thy lemman, and so forth with a long processe.” Chron. vol. ii. fol. 457. ed. 1559.

v. 253. Prynces of yougthe can ye synge by rote?] The meaning of this line seems to be—Can you sing by rote the song beginning, Princess of youth? Skelton, in his Garlande of Laurell, calls Lady Anne Dakers

Page 40. v. 254. Or shall I sayle wyth you a felashyp assaye] i. e., I suppose,—Or try, of good fellowship, (or, perhaps, together with me,) the song which commences Shall I sail with you? Compare the quotation from The Complaynt of Scotland in preceding page.

v. 259. bobbe me on the noll] i. e. beat me on the head.

v. 261. connynge] i. e. knowledge.

v. 262. gete] i. e. got.

v. 269. wyste] i. e. knew.

v. 275. vnneth] i. e. scarcely, not without difficulty.

Page 41. v. 276. But I requyre you no worde that I saye] i. e. But I beg you not to mention a word of what I say.

v. 277. ony] i. e. any.

v. 278. agayne you] i. e. against you, to your disadvantage.

—— wetynge] i. e. knowledge, intelligence.

v. 283. wonderly besene] i. e. of strange appearance, or array. “Well bysene: Bien accoustré.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxlvi. (Table of Aduerbes).

v. 284. hawte] i. e. haughty.

v. 285. scornnys] i. e. scorns.

v. 286. hode] i. e. hood.

v. 287. by Cockes blode] i. e. by God’s blood (Cock a corruption of God). “The Host’s oath in Lydgate,” says Warton, note on Hist. of E. P., ii. 349. ed. 4to. It occurs often in other writers.

v. 288. bote] i. e. bit.

v. 289. His face was belymmed, as byes had him stounge] i. e. His face was disfigured, as if bees had stung him.—In a fragment of Lydgate’s Fall of Prynces, MS. Harl. 2251. fol. 97, we find

where Wayland’s ed. (B. ii. leaf li.) has “a Bee.”

v. 290. jape] i. e. jest, joke.

Page 41. v. 294. this comerous crabes hyghte] i. e. (I suppose) this troublesome crab was called.—Warton (Hist. of E. P. ii. 350) cites, without the authority of any ed., “—— crab is hyghte.”

v. 297. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 298. euyll apayed] i. e. ill satisfied, ill pleased.

v. 301. Dawes] Equivalent to—simpleton; the daw being reckoned a silly bird: so again, in the next line but one, “doctour Dawcocke.”

Page 42. v. 302. in conceyte] i. e. in the good opinion, favour of our Lady Fortune: compare v. 270.

v. 303. hyghte] i. e. is called.

v. 304. sleyte] i. e. sleight, artful contrivance.

v. 311. layne] i. e. conceal.

v. 312. beyte] i. e. bait.

v. 315. And soo outface hym with a carde of ten] “A common phrase,” says Nares, “which we may suppose to have been derived from some game, (possibly primero), wherein the standing boldly upon a ten was often successful. A card of ten meant a tenth card, a ten.... I conceive the force of the phrase to have expressed originally the confidence or impudence of one who with a ten, as at brag, faced, or outfaced one who had really a faced card against him. To face meant, as it still does, to bully, to attack by impudence of face.” Gloss. in v. Face it, &c. “The phrase of a card of ten was possibly derived, by a jocular allusion, from that of a hart of ten, in hunting, which meant a full grown deer, one past six years of age.” Ibid. in v. Card of ten.

v. 316. assawte] i. e. assault.

v. 317. meuyd all in moode] i. e. moved all in anger.

v. 318. fawte] i. e. fault.

v. 320. I wende he had be woode] i. e. I thought he had been mad.

v. 327. hayne] i. e. (perhaps) hind, slave, peasant.

v. 329. suche maysters to playe] i. e. to play such pranks of assumed superiority. Compare v. 341. See Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v. Maistryss.

Page 43. v. 330. I am of countenaunce] i. e. perhaps, I am a person of credit, good means, consequence (see Gifford’s note on B. Jonson’s Works, ii. 111).

v. 332. dyspleasaunce] i. e. displeasure.

v. 334. no force] i. e. no matter.

v. 336. auenture] i. e. adventure.

v. 337. dreuyll] i. e. drudge, low fellow. “Dryuyll seruaunt.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499; and see also Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. in v. Drivel.

Page 43. v. 338. have deynte] See note on v. 150. p. 108.

v. 340. Well, ones thou shalte be chermed, I wus] i. e. Well, one time or other thou shalt be charmed (quelled, as if by a charm), certainly (I wus—i-wis, adv.).

v. 344. Ryotte] “Is forcibly and humorously pictured.” Warton, Hist. of E. P. ii. 348. ed. 4to.

v. 345. A rusty gallande, to-ragged and to-rente] i. e. A shabby gallant, utterly ragged and tattered: see note on v. 32. p. 100.

v. 346. bones] i. e. dice.

v. 348. by saynte Thomas of Kente] i. e. by saint Thomas a Becket:

The picture of Ryotte in the present passage and in v. 389 sqq. gave birth no doubt to the following lines in a poem called Syrs spare your good;

I quote from Brit. Bibliog. ii. 371, where are extracts from an ed. of the poem printed by Kytson, n. d.: it originally appeared from the press of W. de Worde; see Cens. Liter. i. 55. sec. ed.

v. 349. kyst I wote nere what] i. e. cast I know never (not) what.

v. 350. His here was growen thorowe oute his hat] i. e. His hair, &c. Compare Barclay’s Argument of the first Egloge;

and Heywood’s Dialogue;

Ray gives, “His hair grows through his hood. He is very poor, his hood is full of holes.” Proverbs, p. 57. ed. 1768.

Page 43. v. 351. how he dysgysed was] i. e. what a wretched plight he was in:

v. 352. watchynge ouer nyghte] i. e. over-night’s debauch:

v. 354. ne couer myghte] i. e. might not cover.

v. 355. he wente so all for somer lyghte]—somer, i. e. summer.

Compare;

See too Bale’s Kyng Iohan, p. 34. ed. Camd. Soc.; and our author’s Phyllyp Sparowe, v. 719. vol. i. 73.

v. 356. His hose was garded wyth a lyste of grene] i. e. his breeches were faced, trimmed with, &c. “There was an affectation of smartness in the trimming of his hose.” Warton, note on Hist. of E. P. ii. 348. ed. 4to.

Page 44. v. 359. Of Kyrkeby Kendall was his shorte demye] Kendal, or Kirkby in Kendal, was early famous for the manufacture of cloth of various colours, particularly green. Here the word “Kendall” seems equivalent to—green: so too in Hall’s Chronicle, where we are told that Henry the Eighth, with a party of noblemen, “came sodainly in a mornyng into the Quenes Chambre, all appareled in shorte cotes of Kentishe Kendal ... like outlawes, or Robyn Hodes men.” (Henry viii.) fol. vi. ed. 1548.—demye; i. e., says Warton, note on Hist. of E. P. ii. 348. ed. 4to., “doublet, jacket:” rather, I believe, some sort of close vest,—his “cote” having been mentioned in the preceding line.

v. 360. In fayth, decon thou crewe] The commencement of some song; quoted again by our author in A deuoute trentale for old Iohn Clarke, v. 44. vol. i. 170, and in Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 63. vol. ii. 28.

v. 361. he ware his gere so nye] i. e., I suppose, he wore his clothes so near, so thoroughly. But Warton explains it “his coat-sleeve was so short.” Note on Hist. of E. P. ii. 348. ed. 4to.

v. 363. whynarde] i. e. a sort of hanger, sword.

Page 44. v. 363.

—ony crowche, i. e. any piece of money,—many coins being marked with a cross on one side. “The devil might dance in his purse without meeting with a single sixpence.” Warton, note on Hist. of E. P. ii. 348. ed. 4to. So in Massinger’s Bashful Lover;

v. 365. Counter he coude O lux vpon a potte]—Counter; see note, p. 92:—i. e. he could sing O lux, playing an accompaniment to his voice on a drinking-pot. O lux beata Trinitas was an ancient hymn, “which,” says Hawkins, “seems to have been a very popular melody before the time of King Henry viii.” Hist. of Music, ii. 354. In a comedy by the Duke of Newcastle is a somewhat similar passage: “I danced a Jig, while Tom Brutish whistled and play’d upon the head of a pint pot.” The Humorous Lovers, 1677, act i. sc. 1. p. 5.

v. 366. eestryche fedder] i. e. ostrich-feather.

v. 367. fresshely i. e. smartly.

v. 368. What reuell route] Compare;

—— quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 370. Felyce fetewse]—Felyce, i. e. Phillis: fetewse, i. e. feateous; “Fetyce and prety. Paruiculus. Elegantulus.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 371. klycked] i. e. fastened. In Chaucer’s Marchantes Tale, v. 9991. ed. Tyr., “clicket” means a key. Todd (Johnson’s Dict. in v.) cites Cotgrave and Skinner for its having the signification of the ring, knocker, or hammer of a door. Richardson (Dict. in v.) remarks that the word was “applied to any fastening which was accompanied by a clicking, snapping noise.”

v. 372. rebaudrye] i. e. ribaldry.

v. 375. in the deuylles date] An exclamation several times used by Skelton.—In Pierce Plowman, a charter, which is read at the proposed marriage of Mede, is sealed “in the date of the deuil,” sig. C i. ed. 1561.

v. 378. auowe] i. e. vow: see note on v. 199. p. 109.

Page 44. v. 380. done] i. e. do.

v. 382. wake] See note on v. 352. p. 115.

—— none] i. e. noon.

v. 383. mone] i. e. moon.

Page 45. v. 386. Plucke vp thyne herte vpon a mery pyne] “Vpon a mery pynne: De hayt, as Il a le cueur de hayt.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxlvi. (Table of Aduerbes). The expression occurs often in our early poetry; and is found even in one of Wycherley’s comedies.

v. 387. And lete vs laugh a placke or tweyne at nale]—“plucke,” as I have observed ad loc., seems to be the right reading, though the word occurs in the preceding line: compare Thersytes, n. d.

and a song quoted in the note on our author’s Magnyfycence, v. 757;

at nale, (atten ale, at then ale; see Price’s note, Warton’s Hist. of E. P. ii. 501. ed. 1824), i. e. at the ale-house.

v. 389. of dyce a bale] i. e. a pair of dice.

v. 390. A brydelynge caste] An expression which I am unable to explain. It occurs (but applied to drinking) in Beaumont and Fletcher’s Scornful Lady;

—— male] i. e. bag, wallet, pouch.

v. 391. burde] i. e. board.

v. 393. the dosen browne] Is used sometimes to signify thirteen; as in a rare piece entitled A Brown Dozen of Drunkards, &c., 1648. 4to., who are thirteen in number. But in our text “the dosen browne” seems merely to mean the full dozen: so in a tract (Letter from a Spy at Oxford) cited by Grey in his notes on Hudibras, vol. ii. 375; “and this was the twelfth Conquest, which made up the Conqueror’s brown Dozen in Number, compared to the twelve Labours of Hercules.”

v. 394. pas] Seems here to be equivalent to—stake; but I have not found pass used with that meaning in any works on gaming. See The Compleat Gamester, p. 119. ed. 1680.

v. 397. in my pouche a buckell I haue founde] So in our author’s Magnyfycence, after Foly and Fansy have exchanged purses, the latter says

Page 45. v. 398. The armes of Calyce] In our author’s Magnyfycence is the same exclamation;

Whether Calais in France, or Cales (Cadiz) be alluded to, I know not.

—— crosse] See note on v. 363. p. 116.

v. 399. renne] i. e. run.

v. 401. To wete yf Malkyn, my lemman, haue gete oughte] i. e. To know if Malkin, my mistress, has got aught:—whether Malkin is the diminutive of Mal (Mary) has been disputed.

v. 406. Bordews] i. e. Bordeaux.

v. 408. auenture] i. e. adventure.

v. 411. curtel] i. e. curtal.

v. 412. lege] i. e. allege.

v. 413. haue here is myne hat to plege] Marshe’s ed., as I have noticed ad loc., omits “is:” but compare our author’s Elynour Rummyng;

“Haue. i. take the this torne or thredebare garment.” Palsgrave’s Acolastus, 1540. sig. U ii.

Page 46. v. 414. rybaude] i. e. ribald.

v. 418. kyste] i. e. cast.

v. 420. sadde] i. e. serious, earnest.

v. 423. stede] i. e. place.

v. 425. Me passynge sore myne herte than gan agryse] For the reading of all the eds. “aryse,” I have ventured to substitute “agryse,” i. e. cause to shudder. Compare;

v. 426. I dempte and drede] i. e. I deemed and dreaded.

v. 428. Than in his hode, &c.]—hode, i. e. hood.—This passage is quoted by Warton, who observes, “There is also merit in the delineation of Dissimulation ... and it is not unlike Ariosto’s manner in imagining these allegorical personages.” Hist. of E. P. ii. 349. ed. 4to.

Page 46. v. 431. coost] i. e. coast, approach.

v. 433. I sawe a knyfe hyd in his one sleue]—sleue, i. e. sleeve.—This picture somewhat resembles that of False Semblant;

v. 434. Myscheue] i. e. Mischief.

v. 436. spone] i. e. spoon.

v. 437. to preue a dawe] i. e. to prove, try a simpleton: see note on v. 301. p. 113.—Warton, who gives the other reading, “to preye a dawe,” explains it—to catch a silly bird. Note on Hist. of E. P. ii. 349. ed. 4to.

v. 438. wrete] i. e. writ.

Page 47. v. 440. His hode was syde, his cope was roset graye] i. e. His hood was long (or full), his cope was russet grey.

v. 445. a connynge man ne dwelle maye] i. e. a wise, a learned man may not dwell.

v. 448. that nought can] i. e. that knows nothing.

v. 454. clerke] i. e. scholar.

v. 455. in the deuylles date] See note on v. 375. p. 116.

v. 456. longe] i. e. belong.

v. 457. lewde] i. e. wicked.

v. 460. herte brennynge] i. e. heart-burning.

v. 464. It is a worlde] Equivalent to—It is a matter of wonder.

Page 48. v. 466. A man can not wote where to be come] i. e. A man cannot know whither to go: compare v. 228.

v. 467. I wys] i. e. truly, certainly (i-wis, adv.).

—— home] i. e. hum.

v. 470. frere] i. e. friar.

v. 471. agayne] i. e. against.

v. 476. shall wene be hanged by the throte] i. e. (I suppose) shall think themselves hanged, &c.

v. 477. a stoppynge oyster] Compare Heywood;

v. 477. poke] i. e. pouch.

v. 484. teder] i. e. toder, t’other.

v. 486. dreuyll] See note on v. 337, p. 113.

Page 48. v. 488. on flote] i. e. flowing, full.

v. 490. hode] i. e. hood.

v. 491. but what this is ynowe] i. e. but that this is enough.

Page 49. v. 502. Sterte] i. e. Started.

v. 504. nobles] i. e. the gold coins so called.

v. 508. His hode all pounsed and garded]—hode, i. e. hood: pounsed, i. e. perforated, having small holes stamped or worked in it, by way of ornament—garded, i. e. adorned with gards, facings.

v. 510. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 513. rounde] i. e. whisper,—or, rather, mutter, for Skelton (Garlande of Laurell, v. 250. vol. i. 372) and other poets make a distinction between whisper and round:

v. 521. hafte] See note on v. 138. p. 108.

v. 522. payne] i. e. difficulty.

Page 50. v. 525. shrewes] i. e. wicked, worthless fellows.

v. 527. confetryd] i. e. confederated.

v. 528. lewde] i. e. vile, rascally.

v. 529. slee] i. e. slay.

v. 530. hente] i. e. seized.

v. 536. Syth] i. e. Since.

Must have been written before the end of 1508; for it is mentioned with contempt in the concluding lines of Barclay’s Ship of Fooles, which was finished in that year: see Account of Skelton and his Writings.

The Luctus in morte Passeris of Catullus no doubt suggested the present production to Skelton, who, when he calls on “all maner of byrdes” (v. 387) to join in lamenting Philip Sparow, seems also to have had an eye to Ovid’s elegy In mortem Psittaci, Amor. ii. 6. Another piece of the kind is extant among the compositions of antiquity,—the Psittacus Atedii Melioris of Statius, Silv. ii. 4. In the Amphitheatrum Sapientiæ Socraticæ Joco-seriæ, &c., of Dornavius, i. 460 sqq. may be found various Latin poems on the deaths, &c. of sparrows by writers posterior to the time of Skelton. See too Herrick’s lines Upon the death of his Sparrow, an Elegie, Hesperides, 1648. p. 117; and the verses entitled Phyllis on the death of her Sparrow, attributed to Drummond, Works, 1711. p. 50.

“Old Skelton’s ‘Philip Sparrow,’ an exquisite and original poem.” Coleridge’s Remains, ii. 163.

Page 51. v. 1. Pla ce bo, &c.] Skelton is not the only writer that has taken liberties with the Romish service-book. In Chaucer’s Court of Loue, parts of it are sung by various birds; Domine, labia by the nightingale, Venite by the eagle, &c., Workes, fol. 333. ed. 1602: in a short poem by Lydgate “dyuerse foules” are introduced singing different hymns. MS. Harl. 2251. fol. 37: and see too a poem (attributed, without any authority, to Skelton) called Armony of Byrdes, n. d., reprinted (inaccurately) in Typog. Antiq. iv. 380. ed. Dibdin; and Sir D. Lyndsay’s Complaynt of the Papingo, Works, i. 325. ed. Chalmers. In Reynard the Fox we are told that at the burial of “coppe, chanteklers doughter,”—“Tho begonne they placebo domino, with the verses that to longen,” &c. Sig. a 8. ed. 1481. Compare also the mock Requiem printed (somewhat incorrectly) from MS. Cott. Vesp. B. 16. in Ritson’s Antient Songs, i. 118. ed. 1829; Dunbar’s Dirige to the King at Stirling, Poems, i. 86. ed. Laing; and the following lines of a rare tract entitled A Commemoration or Dirige of Boner, &c., by Lemeke Auale, 1569,—

Other pieces of the kind might be pointed out.

v. 6. Wherfore and why, why?] So in the Enterlude of Kyng Daryus, 1565;

v. 7. Philip Sparowe] Philip, or Phip, was a familiar name given to a sparrow from its note being supposed to resemble that sound.

v. 8. Carowe] Was a nunnery in the suburbs of Norwich. “Here [at Norwich],” says Tanner, “was an ancient hospital or nunnery dedicated to St. Mary and St. John; to which K. Stephen having given lands and meadows without the south gate, Seyna and Leftelina two of the sisters, A.D. 1146, began the foundation of a new monastery called Kairo, Carow, or Carhou, which was dedicated to the blessed Virgin Mary, and consisted of a prioress and nine Benedictine nuns.” Not. Mon. p. 347. ed. 1744. In 1273, Pope Gregory the Tenth inhibited the Prioress and convent from receiving more nuns than their income would maintain, upon their representation that the English nobility, whom they could not resist, had obliged them to take in so many sisters that they were unable to support them. At the Dissolution the number of nuns was twelve. The site of the nunnery, within the walls, contained about ten acres. It was granted, with its chief revenues, in the 30th Henry viii. to Sir John Shelton, knight, who fitted up the parlour and hall, which were noble rooms, when he came to reside there, not long after the Dissolution. It continued in the Shelton family for several generations.

This nunnery was during many ages a place of education for the young ladies of the chief families in the diocese of Norwich, who boarded with and were taught by the nuns. The fair Jane or Johanna Scroupe of the present poem was, perhaps, a boarder at Carow.

See more concerning Carow in Dugdale’s Monast. (new ed.) iv. 68 sqq., and Blomefield’s Hist. of Norfolk, ii. 862 sqq. ed. fol.

Page 51. v. 9. Nones Blake] i. e. Black Nuns,—Benedictines.

v. 12. bederolles] i. e. lists of those to be prayed for.

Page 52. v. 24. The tearys downe hayled] So Hawes;

v. 27. Gyb our cat] Gib, a contraction of Gilbert, was a name formerly given to a male cat:

In Gammer Gurtons Nedle, 1575, “Gib our cat” is a person of consequence. Shakespeare (Henry iv. Part First, act i. sc. 2.) has the expression “gib cat;” and how his commentators have written “about it and about it” most readers are probably aware.

v. 29. Worrowyd her on that] So Dunbar;

v. 34. stounde] i. e. moment, time.

v. 35. sounde] i. e. swoon.

v. 37. Vnneth I kest myne eyes] i. e. Scarcely, not without difficulty, I cast, &c.

v. 42. Haue rewed] i. e. Have had compassion.

Page 52. v. 46. senaws] i. e. sinews.

Page 53. v. 58. frete] i. e. eat, gnaw.

v. 69. marees] i. e. waters.

v. 70. Acherontes well] i. e. Acheron’s well. So,—after the fashion of our early poets,—Skelton writes Zenophontes for Xenophon, Eneidos for Eneis, Achilliedos for Achilleis, &c.

v. 75. blo] i. e. livid: see note, p. 103. v. 3.

v. 76. mare] i. e. hag.—“Mare or witche.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 77. fende] i. e. fiend.

v. 78. edders] i. e. adders.

v. 82. sowre] In Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530, is “Sower of smellyng,” fol. xcvi. (Table of Adiect.),—a sense of the word which Skelton has elsewhere (third poem Against Garnesche, v. 146. vol. i. 124), and which therefore probably applies to the present passage. But qy. does “sowre” signify here—foul? “Sowre filthe. Fimus. Cenum. Lutum.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “Sowry or defiled in soure or filth,” &c. Id.

v. 87. outraye] “I Outray a persone (Lydgate) I do some outrage or extreme hurt to hym. Ie oultrage.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccxi. (Table of Verbes).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

v. 118.

Compare Gascoigne in a little poem entitled The praise of Philip Sparrow;

Sir Philip Sidney in a sonnet;

Brome in The Northern Lasse, 1632;

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

Page 55. v. 125.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

and Drayton;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

v. 248.

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

and qy. did Skelton write,—

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

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

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

v. 273. vengeaunce I aske and crye] Compare Magnus Herodes;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

v. 305.

—bote, i. e. bit.—So in Syr Tryamoure;

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

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

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

Page 61. v. 325. gentle of corage]—corage, i. e. heart, mind, disposition. So in our author’s Magnyfycence; “Be gentyll then of corage.” v. 2511. vol. i. 308.

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

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

v. 345.

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

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

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

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

v. 362. musse] i. e. muzzle,—mouth.

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

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

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

Page 63. v. 387.

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

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

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

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

“The Red Sparrow, or Reed Sparrow.” R. Holme’s Ac. of Armory, 1688. B. ii. p. 246.

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

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

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

In Hormanni Vulgaria we find: “He is shamefast but not pekysshe. Verecundus est sine ignauia.” sig. N i. ed. 1530.—And see Todd’s Johnson’s Dict., and Richardson’s Dict. in v. Peak.

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

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

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

v. 418.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Page 64. v. 427.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

v. 447. the gaglynge gaunte] In Prompt. Parv. is “Gant birde. Bistarda.” ed. 1499. Palsgrave gives “Gant byrde,” without a corresponding French term. Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xxxv. (Table of Subst.). Our author in his Elynour Rummyng has—

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

v. 469.

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

Page 65. v. 478.

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

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

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

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

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

v. 491.

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

Page 66. v. 495.

So Chaucer;

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

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

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

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

v. 503.

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

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

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

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

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

Page 67. v. 524. reflary] As I have already noticed, should probably be “reflayre,”—i. e. odour. See Roquefort’s Gloss. de la Lang. Rom. in v. Flareur, and Suppl. in v. Fleror; and Cotgrave’s Dict. in v. Reflairer. In The Garlande of Laurell our author calls a lady “reflaring rosabell.” v. 977. vol. i. 401.

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

See too The Pistill of Susan, st. viii.—Laing’s Early Pop. Poetry of Scot.

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

v. 536.

See Historia Naturalis, lib. x. sect. 2.

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

v. 545. corage] i. e. heart,—feelings.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—— fet] i. e. fetch.

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

—— warke] i. e. work, business.

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

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

See a little poem in his Works, viii. 185. ed. Todd.

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

v. 600.

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

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

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

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

v. 610. Elyconys] i. e. Helicon’s.

Page 70. v. 616.

See Chaucer’s Knightes Tale, and Nonnes Preestes Tale.

v. 618.

See Chaucer’s Wif of Bathes Prologue.—scath, i. e. harm, mischief.

v. 629. Of Gawen] Son of King Lot and nephew of King Arthur. Concerning him, see the Morte d’Arthur (of which some account is given in note on v. 634),—Syr Gawayn and the Grene Knyȝt, in MS. Cott. Nero A. x. fol. 91,—Ywaine and Gawin, in Ritson’s Met. Rom. vol. i.,—the fragment of The Marriage of Sir Gawaine, at the end of Percy’s Rel. of A. E. P.,—The Awntyrs of Arthure at the Terne Wathelyn, in Laing’s Early Pop. Poetry of Scot., (the same romance, from a different MS., under the title of Sir Gawan and Sir Galaron of Galloway, in Pinkerton’s Scot. Poems, vol. iii.),—The Knightly Tale of Golagrus and Gawane, reprinted at Edinburgh in 1827 from the ed. of 1508, (the same romance, under the title of Gawan and Gologras, in Pinkerton’s Scot. Poems, vol. iii.),—and the romance of Arthour and Merlin, from the Auchinleck MS., published by the Abbotsford Club, 1838.

I had written the above note before the appearance of a valuable volume put forth by the Bannatyne Club, entitled Syr Gawayne; A collection of Ancient Romance-Poems, by Scotish and English Authors, relating to that celebrated Knight of the Round Table, with an Introduction, &c., by Sir F. Madden, 1839.

—— syr Guy] In The Rime of Sire Thopas, Chaucer mentions “Sire Guy” as one of the “romaunces of pris.” For an account of, extracts from, and an analysis of, the English romance on the subject of this renowned hero of Warwick, see Ritson’s Met. Rom. (Dissert.) i. xcii., Warton’s Hist. of E. P. i. 169. ed. 4to., and Ellis’s Spec. of Met. Rom. ii. I must also refer the reader to a volume, issued by the Abbotsford Club (while the present sheet was passing through the press), entitled The Romances of Sir Guy of Warwich, and Rembrun his son. Now first edited from the Auchinleck MS. 1840.

Page 70. v. 631.

A boke of the hoole lyf of Jason was printed by Caxton in folio, n. d. (about 1475), being a translation by that venerable typographer from the French of Raoul le Fevre. A copy of it (now before me) in the King’s Library, though apparently perfect, has no title of any sort. Specimens of this prose-romance, which is not without merit, may be found in Dibdin’s Biblioth. Spenc. iv. 199.—The story of Jason is also told by Chaucer, Legend of Hipsiphile and Medea; by Gower, Conf. Am. Lib. v.; and, at considerable length, by Lydgate, Warres of Troy, B. i.

v. 634.

—warke, i. e. work, affair.—Concerning the various romances on the subject of Arthur, Lancelot, Tristram, &c. see Sir F. Madden’s Introduction to the volume already mentioned, Syr Gawayne, &c.—In this passage, however, Skelton seems to allude more particularly to a celebrated compilation from the French—the prose romance of The Byrth, Lyf, and Actes of Kyng Arthur, &c., commonly known by the name of Morte d’Arthur. At the conclusion of the first edition printed in folio by Caxton (and reprinted in 1817 with an Introd. and Notes by Southey) we are told “this booke was ended the ix. yere of the reygne of kyng Edward the Fourth by syr Thomas Maleore, knyght”.... “Whiche booke was reduced in to Englysshe by Syr Thomas Malory knyght as afore is sayd and by me [Caxton] deuyded in to xxi bookes chaptyred and emprynted and fynysshed in thabbey Westmestre the last day of July the yere of our lord MCCCCLXXXV.”

In the Morte d’Arthur, the gallant and courteous Sir Launcelot du Lake, son of King Ban of Benwyck, figures as the devoted lover of Arthur’s queen, Gueneuer (Skelton’s “Gaynour”), daughter of King Lodegreans of Camelard. On several occasions, Gueneuer, after being condemned to be burnt, is saved by the valour of her knight. But their criminal intercourse proves in the end the destruction of Arthur and of the fellowship of the Round Table. Gueneuer becomes a nun, Launcelot a priest. The last meeting of the guilty pair,—the interment of Gueneuer’s body by her paramour,—and the death of Launcelot, are related with no ordinary pathos and simplicity.

The same work treats fully of the loves of Sir Trystram, son of King Melyodas of Lyones, and La Beale Isoud (Skelton’s “Bele Isold”), daughter of King Anguysshe of Ireland, and wife of King Marke of Cornwall, Trystram’s uncle.—(Trystram’s wife, Isoud La Blaunche Maynys, was daughter of King Howel of Bretagne).—The excuse for the intrigue between Trystram and his uncle’s spouse is, that their mutual passion was the consequence of a love-potion, which they both drank without being aware of its nature.

“In our forefathers time,” observes Ascham, somewhat severely, “when Papistrie, as a standing poole, couered and ouerflowed all England, fewe bookes were red in our tonge, sauing certayne bookes of Chiualrie, as they sayd for pastime and pleasure, which, as some say, were made in Monasteries, by idle Monkes, or wanton Chanons: as one for example Morte Arthur: the whole pleasure of which booke standeth in two speciall pointes, in open mans slaughter, and bolde bawdrye: in which booke, those bee counted the noblest knights, that doe kill most men without any quarell, and commit fowlest aduoulteries by sutlest shifts: as Sir Launcelote, with the wife of king Arthure his maister: Sir Tristram, with the wife of King Marke his uncle: Syr Lamerocke, with the wife of king Lote, that was his own aunte. This is good stuffe, for wise men to laugh at, or honest men to take pleasure at. Yet I knowe, when Gods Bible was banished the Court, and Morte Arthure receaued into the Princes chamber.” The Schole Master, fol. 27. ed. 1571.

Page 71. v. 649.

See the romance of Lybeaus Disconus (Le beau desconnu), in Ritson’s Met. Rom. ii.; also Sir F. Madden’s note in the volume entitled Syr Gawayne, &c. p. 346.

v. 651.

The English prose romance on the subject of these worthies came originally from the press of Caxton, an imperfect copy of his edition n. d. folio, being in Lord Spencer’s library; see Dibdin’s Ædes Althorp. ii. 298: and that it was also translated from the French by Caxton himself, there is every reason to believe; see Dibdin’s Bibliog. Decam. ii. 438. According to the colophon of Copland’s ed., this romance was reprinted in 1504 by Wynkyn de Worde; see Typ. Antiq. ii. 116. ed. Dibdin. Copland’s edition has the following title: The right plesaunt and goodly Historie of the foure sonnes of Aimon the which for the excellent endytyng of it, and for the notable Prowes and great vertues that were in them: is no les pleasaunt to rede, then worthy to be knowen of all estates bothe hyghe and lowe, M.CCCCC.LIIII. folio.

The names of the brothers were “Reynawde, Alarde, Guycharde, and Rycharde, that were wonderfull fayre, wytty, great, mightye, and valyaunte, specyally Reynawde whiche was the greatest and the tallest manne that was founde at that tyme in al the worlde. For he had xvi. feete of length and more.” fol. i. ed. Copl. The father of this hopeful family was Duke of Ardeyne.

Bayarde—(properly a bay horse, but used for a horse in general)—“was suche a horse, that neuer was his like in all the world nor neuer shall be except Busifal the horse of the great Kinge Alexander. For as for to haue ronne. xxx. myle together he wolde neuer haue sweted. The sayd Bayard thys horse was growen in the Isle of Boruscan, and Mawgys the sonne of the duke Benes of Aygremount had gyuen to his cosin Reynawde, that after made the Kynge Charlemayne full wrothe and sory.” fol. v. Reynawde had a castle in Gascoigne called Mountawban; hence Skelton’s expression, “Bayarde Mountalbon.” A wood-cut on the title-page represents the four brothers riding “eche one” upon the poor animal. “I,” says Reynawde, relating a certain adventure, “mounted vpon Bayarde and my brethern I made to mount also thone before and the two other behynde me, and thus rode we al foure vpon my horse bayarde.” fol. lxxxii.

Charlemagne, we are told, made peace with Reynawde on condition that he should go as a pilgrim, poorly clothed and begging his bread, to the holy land, and that he should deliver up Bayard to him. When Charlemagne had got possession of the horse,—“Ha Bayarde, bayarde,” said he, “thou hast often angred me, but I am come to the poynt, god gramercy, for to auenge me;” and accordingly he caused Bayarde to be thrown from a bridge into the river Meuse, with a great millstone fastened to his neck. “Now ye ought to know that after that bayarde was caste in the riuer of meuze: he wente vnto the botom as ye haue herde, and might not come vp for bicause of the great stone that was at his necke whiche was horryble heuye, and whan bayarde sawe he myghte none otherwise scape: he smote so longe and so harde with his feete vpon the mylle stone: that he brast it, and came agayne aboue the water and began to swym, so that he passed it all ouer at the other syde, and whan he was come to londe: he shaked hymselfe for to make falle the water fro him and began to crie hie, and made a merueyllous noyse, and after beganne to renne so swyftlye as the tempest had borne him awaie, and entred in to the great forest of Ardeyn ... and wit it for very certayn that the folke of the countrey saien, that he is yet alyue within the wood of Ardeyn. But wyt it whan he seeth man or woman: he renneth anon awaye, so that no bodye maye come neere hym.” fol. cxlv.

Page 71. v. 661. Of Judas Machabeus] “Gaultier de Belleperche Arbalestrier, ou Gaultier Arbalestrier de Belleperche, commença le Romans de Judas Machabee, qu’il poursuiuit jusques à sa mort.... Pierre du Riez le coutinua jusques à la fin.” Fauchet’s Recveil de l’origine de la langue et poesie Françoise, &c., p. 197.

v. 662.—of Cesar Julious] In the prologue to an ancient MS. poem, The boke of Stories called Cursor Mundi, translated from the French, mention is made of the romance

v. 663.

This prose romance was printed by Caxton in folio: Here begynneth thystorye of the noble ryght valyaunt and worthy knyght Parys, and of the fayr Vyēne the daulphyns doughter of Vyennoys, the whyche suffred many aduersytees bycause of theyr true loue or they coude enioye the effect therof of eche other. Colophon: Thus endeth thystorye of the noble, &c. &c., translated out of frensshe in to englysshe by Wylliam Caxton at Westmestre fynysshed the last day of August the yere of our lord MCCCCLXXXV, and enprynted the xix day of decembre the same yere, and the fyrst yere of the regne of kyng Harry the seuenth.

Gawin Douglas tells us in his Palice of Honour, that, among the attendants on Venus,

Page 71. v. 665. duke Hannyball]—duke, i. e. leader, lord.—So Lydgate;

and in a copy of verses entitled Thonke God of alle, he applies the word to our Saviour;

v. 667. Fordrede] i. e. utterly, much afraid.

v. 668. wake] i. e. watch,—besiege.

v. 673.

See the Warres of Troy by Lydgate, a paraphrastical translation of Guido de Colonna’s Historia Trojana: it was first printed in 1513. See too the Recuyel of the Historyes of Troy. Compare Hawes;

v. 677.

See Chaucer’s Troilus and Creseide.

Page 72. v. 682. Pandaer] Or Pandare as Chaucer occasionally calls Pandarus.

—— bylles] i. e. letters: see Chaucer’s Troilus and Creseide.

v. 686. An ouche, or els a ryng] “Nouche. Monile.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “Ouche for a bonnet afficquet.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. li. (Table of Subst.). “He gaue her an ouche couched with perles, &c.... monile.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. k iii. ed. 1530.—Concerning ouche (jewel, ornament, &c.), a word whose etymology and primary signification are uncertain, see Tyrwhitt’s Gloss., to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales, v. Nouches, and Richardson’s Dict. in v. Ouch.—Here, perhaps, it means a brooch: for in the third book of Chaucer’s Troilus and Creseide, Cressid proposes that Pandarus should bear a “blew ring” from her to Troilus; and (ibid.) afterwards the lovers

After Cressid becomes acquainted with Diomede, she gives him a brooch, which she had received from Troilus on the day of her departure from Troy. Id. fols. 179, 181. In Henrysoun’s Testament of Creseide (a poem of no mean beauty), Cressid, stricken with leprosy, bequeathes to Troilus a ring which he had given her. Id. fol. 184.

Page 72. v. 700. That made the male to wryng] So Skelton elsewhere;

and so Lydgate;

I do not understand the expression. In Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530, besides “Male or wallet to putte geare in,” we find “Mayle that receyueth the claspe of a gowne in to it ... porte,” fol. xlvi. (Table of Subst.).

v. 702. The song of louers lay]—lay seems here to mean—law.

Page 73. v. 716. kys the post] So Barclay;

The expression is found in much later writers: see, for instance, Heywood’s Woman Kilde with Kindnesse, sig. E 2. ed. 1617.

v. 717. Pandara] So in Chaucer (according to some copies);

Page 73. v. 719. But lyght for somer grene] See note, p. 115. v. 355.

v. 727. ne knew] i. e. knew not.

v. 728. on lyue] i. e. alive.

v. 732. make] i. e. mate.

v. 735. proces] i. e. story, account. So again in this poem “relation” and “prosses” are used as synonymous, vv. 961, 969; and in our author’s Magnyfycence we find

and presently after,

The 15th chap. of the first book of Lydgate’s Fall of Prynces is headed “A processe of Narcissus, Byblis, Myrra,” &c.

v. 736.—of Anteocus] Whom Chaucer calls “the cursed king Antiochus.” The Man of Lawes Prol. v. 4502. ed. Tyr. His story may be found in Gower’s Confessio Amantis, lib. viii. fol. clxxv. sqq. ed. 1554.

v. 739.

“Even scripture-history was turned into romance. The story of Esther and Ahasuerus, or of Amon or Hamon, and Mardocheus or Mordecai, was formed into a fabulous poem.” Warton, note on Hist. of E. P. ii. 178. (where some lines of the romance are quoted from a MS.) ed. 4to.

v. 741. Vesca] i. e. Vashti.

v. 742. teene] i. e. wrath: see the Book of Esther.

v. 745. Of kyng Alexander] See Weber’s Introduction, p. xx. sqq., and the romance of Kyng Alisaunder in his Met. Rom. i.; also The Buik of the most noble and vailȝeand Conquerour Alexander the Great, reprinted by the Bannatyne Club, 1831.

v. 746.—of kyng Euander] As the lady declares (v. 756) that she was slightly acquainted with Virgil, we may suppose that her knowledge of this personage was derived from The Recuyel of the Historyes of Troy, and Caxton’s Boke of Eneydos.

Page 74. v. 751. historious] i. e. historical.

v. 752. bougets and males] i. e. budgets and bags.

v. 754. sped] i. e. versed in.

v. 760. mo] i. e. more.

v. 766. Phorocides] i. e. Pherecydes.

v. 767. auncyente] i. e. antiquity.

Page 74. v. 768. to diffuse for me] i. e. too difficult for me to understand. “Dyffuse harde to be vnderstande, diffuse.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxxxvi. (Table of Adiect.).

v. 775. enneude] “I Ennewe I set the laste and fresshest coloure vpon a thyng as paynters do whan their worke shall remayne to declare their connyng, Je renouuelle. Your ymage is in maner done, so sone as I haue ennewed it I wyl sende it you home,” &c. Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccxxvi. (Table of Verbes).

“And the one shylde was enewed with whyte, and the other shelde was reed.” Morte d’Arthur, B. iii. c. ix. vol. i. 81. ed. Southey.

v. 776. pullysshed] i. e. polished.

—— lusty] i. e. pleasant, beautiful.

v. 779. frowardes] i. e. frowardness.

Page 75. v. 788. sped] i. e. versed.

v. 791. Solacious] i. e. affording amusement.

v. 792. alowed] i. e. approved.

v. 793. enprowed] In the Glossary to Fry’s Pieces of Ancient Poetry, 1814, where a portion of the present poem is given, enprowed is rendered “profited of:” the whole passage is very obscure.

v. 799. warke] i. e. work.

v. 804.

Lydgate, however, disclaims all elevation of style: see his Fall of Prynces, Prol. sig. A iii. ed. Wayland; his Warres of Troy, B. ii. sigs. F ii, K. ii, B. v. sigs. E e i. ii. iii. ed. 1555.

v. 806. dyffuse] i. e. difficult: see note on v. 768, supra.

v. 807. sentence] i. e. meaning.

v. 809. No man that can amend, &c.] So Hawes, speaking of the works of Chaucer, Gower, and Lydgate;

Page 75. v. 811. faute] i. e. fault.

v. 812. to haute] i. e. too high, too loftily.

Page 76. v. 817. In worth] See note, p. 95. v. 68.

v. 841. Joanna] See note, p. 122.

Page 77, v. 860.

Skelton recollected that Virgil had invoked this nymph as a Muse;

v. 869. lust] i. e. pleasure.

v. 872. enbybed] i. e. made wet.

v. 873. aureat] i. e. golden.

v. 875. Thagus] i. e. Tagus.

Page 78. v. 882. remes] i. e. realms.

v. 886. Perce and Mede] i. e. Persia and Media.

v. 896.

So Lydgate:

See also his Warres of Troy, B. ii. sig. II i. B. iii. sig. S i. ed. 1555; and Chaucer, The Pardoneres Tale, v. 12863. ed. Tyr.

v. 903. askry] i. e. call out against, raise a shout against: see note on v. 1358, p. 152.

v. 905. odyous Enui, &c.] Here Skelton has an eye to Ovid’s picture of Envy:

See too the description of Envy in Pierce Plowman, sig. F ii. ed. 1561.

v. 908. ledder] i. e. leather, leathern.

Page 79. v. 912. crake] i. e. creak.

v. 913. Leane as a rake] From Chaucer;

Browne has the expression,—Britannia’s Pastorals, B. ii. S. 1. p. 18. ed. 1625.

Page 79. v. 915. vnlusty] i. e. unpleasant, unseemly.

v. 919. wronge] i. e. wrung.

v. 930. bete] i. e. agitated; or, perhaps, inflamed (the expression to bete a fire, to mend it, to make it burn, is a common one).

v. 931. frete] i. e. eaten, gnawed.

v. 936. semblaunt] i. e. semblance, appearance.

Page 80. v. 947. slo] i. e. slay.

v. 963. agayne] i. e. against.

v. 968. dres] i. e. address, apply.

v. 969. prosses] Equivalent to “relation” in v. 961: see note on v. 735, p. 143.

v. 970. ken] i. e. instruct.

v. 973. As hym best lyst] i. e. As best pleases him.

Page 81. v. 980. bedell] i. e., I apprehend, servitor: but Nares, MS. note on Skelton, explains it—beadsman.

v. 999. sort] i. e. set, assemblage.

v. 1002. fauour] i. e. appearance, look—or, perhaps, beauty,—in which sense the word occurs v. 1048.

v. 1003. Ennewed] See note on v. 775, p. 144.

Page 82. v. 1014.

“Gray coloured as ones eyes be vair.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxxxviii. (Table of Adiect.):—bent, i. e. arched. Compare Hawes;

I may just observe that these passages (and many others which might be cited) shew how unnecessarily Ritson substituted “brent” for “bent” in The Squyr of Lowe Degre; see his note, Met. Rom. iii. 351.

v. 1019. Polexene] i. e. Polyxena, the daughter of Priam,—celebrated by Lydgate in his Warres of Troy, and by others.

v. 1031. The Indy saphyre blew] Indy may perhaps be used here for—Indian; but I believe the expression is equivalent to—the azure blue sapphire (Skelton in his Garlande of Laurell has “saphiris indy blew,” v. 478, vol. i. 381); see note, p. 101. v. 17.

v. 1032. ennew] See note on v. 775. p. 144.

Page 82. v. 1034. lere] i. e. skin.

v. 1035. lusty] i. e. pleasant, beautiful.

—— ruddes] i. e. ruddy tints of the cheek, complexion.

Page 83. v. 1048. with fauour fret]—fauour, i. e. beauty; so Skelton has “feturs fauorable,” in the second of his Balettys, v. 8, vol. i. 23: fret, I believe, does not here mean fraught (see Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales), but is equivalent to—wrought, adorned,—in allusion to fret-work; so in our author’s Garlande of Laurell,—

v. 1052.

Ielofer is perhaps what we now call gillyflower; but it was formerly the name for the whole class of carnations, pinks, and sweetwilliams. So Graunde Amoure terms La Bell Pucell;

v. 1065. denayd] i. e. denied.

v. 1069. conuenyently] i. e. fittingly, suitably.

Page 84. v. 1077. sker] i. e. scar: see v. 1045.

v. 1078. Enhached] i. e. Inlaid: our author has the word again in his Garlande of Laurell;

v. 1081. To forget deadly syn] Compare the first of our author’s Balettys, v. 11. vol. i. 22.

v. 1096. pastaunce] i. e. pastime.

v. 1097. So sad and so demure]—sad, i. e. serious, grave, sober: so afterwards, “Sobre, demure Dyane.” v. 1224.

v. 1100. make to the lure] A metaphor from falconry: “Lure is that whereto Faulconers call their young Hawks, by casting it up in the aire, being made of feathers and leather, in such wise that in the motion it looks not unlike a fowl.” Latham’s Faulconry (Explan. of Words of Art), 1658.

v. 1102. hole] i. e. whole.

Page 85. v. 1105. crased] i. e. crushed, enfeebled.

v. 1106. dased] i. e. dazzled.

v. 1116.

—auale is generally—to let down, to lower: but I know not how to explain the present passage, which appears to be defective.

Page 85. v. 1118.

—quyckely vayned, i. e. lively veined. Compare Hawes;

v. 1124. Vnneth] i. e. Scarcely, not without difficulty. Here again the text seems to be defective.

v. 1125. reclaymed] A metaphor from falconry. “Reclaming is to tame, make gentle, or to bring a Hawk to familiarity with the man.” Latham’s Faulconry (Explan. of Words of Art), 1658.

Page 86. v. 1146. tote] i. e. look, gaze: see note on v. 411, p. 129.

v. 1147. fote] i. e. foot.

v. 1148. hert rote] i. e. heart-root.

v. 1151.

I must leave the reader to form his own idea of the meaning of the last two lines, which are beyond my comprehension.

v. 1157. Ne] i. e. Nor.

—— wood] i. e. mad, furious.

Page 87. v. 1170.

—Phebus beames shyne, i. e. the shine of Phœbus’ beams. Compare Hawes;

v. 1177. to suppose] i. e. to be supposed.

Page 87. v. 1178. were] i. e. wear.

v. 1179. gere] i. e. dress, clothes.

v. 1180. fresshe] i. e. gay.

v. 1184. lusty somer] i. e. pleasant summer.

v. 1194. kyrtell] “Kyrtell a garment corpset, surcot, cotelle.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xliii. (Table of Subst.). It has been variously explained (see notes on Henry IV. Part ii. act ii. sc. 4, Shakespeare by Malone and Boswell, xvii. 98, 99, Todd’s Johnson’s Dict., and Nares’s Gloss.), petticoat,—safe-guard or riding-hood,—long cloak,—long mantle, reaching to the ground, with a head to it that entirely covered the face, and usually red,—apron,—jacket,—and loose gown!!! The following note by Gifford on Cynthia’s Revels (Jonson’s Works, ii. 260) gives the most satisfactory account of a kirtle: “Few words have occasioned such controversy among the commentators on our old plays as this; and all for want of knowing that it is used in a two-fold sense, sometimes for the jacket merely, and sometimes for the train or upper petticoat attached to it. A full kirtle was always a jacket and petticoat, a half kirtle (a term which frequently occurs) was either the one or the other: but our ancestors, who wrote when this article of dress was everywhere in use, and when there was little danger of being misunderstood, most commonly contented themselves with the simple term (kirtle), leaving the sense to be gathered from the context.”

v. 1199. let] i. e. hinder.

Page 88. v. 1205. pullysshed] i. e. polished.

v. 1223. Jane] See note, p. 122.

v. 1225. hyght] i. e. called.

Page 89. v. 1242. saynt Jamys] i. e. Saint James of Compostella: see note on Elynour Rummyng, v. 354.

v. 1243. pranys] i. e. prawns.

v. 1244. cranys] i. e. cranes.

v. 1250. sadly] i. e. seriously, soberly.

v. 1251. gyse] i. e. guise, fashion.

Page 90. —— an adicyon] Though found in all the eds. of Phyllyp Sparowe which I have seen, it was not, I apprehend, originally published with the poem. It is inserted (and perhaps first appeared) in our author’s Garlande of Laurell, v. 1261. vol. i. 412, where he tells us that some persons “take greuaunce, and grudge with frownyng countenaunce,” at his poem on Philip Sparrow,—alluding probably more particularly to Barclay; see note, p. 120, and Account of Skelton and his Writings.

v. 1269. ianglynge iayes] See note on v. 396, p. 128.

Page 90. v. 1274. depraue] i. e. vilify, defame. “Thus was syr Arthur depraued and euyl sayd of.” Morte d’Arthur, B. xxi. c. i. vol. ii. 433. ed. Southey.

v. 1289. estate] i. e. high rank, dignity.

Page 91. v. 1291. Hercules that hell dyd harow]—harow, i. e. lay waste, plunder, spoil,—overpower, subdue,—Hercules having carried away from it his friends Theseus and Pirithous, as well as the dog Cerberus. The harrowing of hell was an expression properly and constantly applied to our Lord’s descent into hell, as related in the Gospel of Nicodemus. There were several early miracle-plays on this favourite subject; and Lydgate strangely enough says that Christ

I may add, that Warner, speaking of Hercules, uses the words “harrowed hell.” Albion’s England, p. 23. ed. 1612.

v. 1293. Slew of the Epidaures, &c.] Qy. is not the text corrupted here?

v. 1295. Onocentaures] i. e. Centaurs, half human, half asses. See Ælian De Nat. Anim. lib. xvii. c. 9. ed. Gron., and Phile De Anim. Prop. c. 44. ed. Pauw. Both these writers describe the onocentaur as having the bosom of a woman. R. Holme says it “is a Monster, being the Head and Breasts of a Woman set upon the Shoulders of a Bull.” Ac. of Armory, 1688. B. ii. p. 208.

v. 1296. Hipocentaures] i. e. Centaurs, half human, half horses.

v. 1302. Of Hesperides withhold] i. e. Withheld by the Hesperides.

v. 1314. rounses] i. e. common hackney-horses (though the word is frequently used for horses in general).

v. 1318.

The “bull” means Achelous, who, during his combat with Hercules, assumed that shape:

Page 92. v. 1322. Ecates] i. e. Hecate’s.

Page 92. v. 1326.

—brent, i. e. burned. A somewhat profane allusion to the scriptural expression “the worm dieth not;”—(worm and serpent were formerly synonymous).

v. 1332. infernall posty]—posty, i. e. power. So Lydgate;

v. 1333. rosty] i. e. roast.

v. 1335. wood] i. e. mad, wild.

v. 1340. frounsid] i. e. wrinkled.

v. 1344. Primo Regum] i. e. The First Book of Kings, or, as it is now called, The First Book of Samuel, chap, xxviii.

v. 1345.

—Phitonesse, i. e. Pythoness, witch,—the witch of Endor.

and see his House of Fame, B. iii. fol. 267, Workes, ed. 1602.

See also Gower’s Conf. Am. B. iv. fol. lxxiii. ed. 1554; Barbour’s Bruce, B. iii. v. 982. ed. Jam.; G. Douglas’s Preface to his Virgil’s Æneados, p. 6, 1. 51. ed. Rudd.; and Sir D. Lyndsay’s Monarchie, B. iv. Works, iii. 151. ed. Chalmers.

Page 92. v. 1346. dresse] i. e. address, apply.

v. 1351. condityons] i. e. qualities. But in our author’s Garlande of Laurell, where this “adicyon” is given, the passage according to Fake’s ed., and rightly perhaps (compare the preceding lines), stands thus;

Page 93. v. 1352. stede] i. e. place.

v. 1358. ascry] Has occurred before in this poem, see note on v. 903. p. 145. Palsgrave has “I Askry as fore riders of an armye do their enemyes whan they make reporte where they haue sene them: Je descouures.... Whose company dyd askry them first .... les descouuryt.” Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cliii. (Table of Verbes). But in the present passage “ascry” seems to mean assail (with a shout). In Langtoft’s Chronicle we find,

(who in Gloss. renders “ascrie”—cry to). The original French has,

Roquefort gives “Escrier: Faire entendre son cri d’armes dans une bataille ... marcher à l’ennemi, l’attaquer,” &c. Gloss. de la Lang. Rom. (Sup.).

v. 1360. my selfe dyscharge] i. e. unburden myself,—open my mind.

v. 1365. shene] i. e. shine.

v. 1371. Scroupe pulchra Joanna] See note, p. 122. I ought to have observed ad loc. that “Scroupe” is to be considered here as a monosyllable; unless we read “Scrope” as two short syllables.

On the title-page and also on the last leaf of Rand’s edition of this poem, 1624, 4to, (reprinted, not with perfect accuracy, in the Harleian Miscellany; see vol. i. 415. ed. Park,) is an imaginary portrait, of which the subjoined is a fac-simile:

George Steevens having heard that a copy of Rand’s edition was in the Library of Lincoln Cathedral, prevailed on the Dean to bring it to London; and having made a drawing of the title-page, gave it to Richardson the printseller, who engraved and published it. Steevens, soon after, contributed to the European Magazine for May, 1794, vol. xxv. 334,—

“Verses meant to have been subjoined (with the following Motto) to a Copy from a scarce Portrait of Elinour Rumming, lately published by Mr. Richardson, of Castle-street, Leicester-square.

The Marquis of Bute told Dallaway that he gave twenty guineas for the original engraving of Elinour: see Dallaway’s Letheræum, 1821, p. 6.

Rand’s edition opens with the following lines, which, I need hardly observe, are by some rhymer of the day:

At the end of the poem is, from the same hand,

Concerning Elynour Rummyng and the poem by which Skelton has rendered her famous, Dallaway has the following remarks,—his account of the circumstances which introduced Skelton to her acquaintance being a mere hypothesis!! “When the Court of Henry viii was frequently kept at the palace of Nonsuch (about six miles distant), the laureate, with other courtiers, sometimes came to Leatherhead for the amusement of fishing, in the river Mole; and were made welcome at the cabaret of Elinor Rummyng, whom Skelton celebrated in an equivocal encomium, in a short [?—it consists of 623 lines—] poem, remarkable only for a very coarse jest, after a manner peculiar to the author and the times in which he lived, but which has been more frequently reprinted than his other works. The gist or point of this satire had a noble origin, or there must be an extraordinary coincidence of thought in the Beoni, or Topers, a ludicrous effusion of the great Lorenzo de Medici, when a young man.... Her domicile, near the bridge, still exists. The annexed etching was made from a drawing taken previously to late repairs, but it still retains its first distinction as an ale-house.”

“Some of her descendants occur in the parish register in the early part of the last century.” Letheræum, 1821, pp. 4-6.

The Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng] Besides “I Tonne ale or wyne I put lycour in to tonnes, Je entöne,” Palsgrave has “I Tonne I masshe ale, Je brasse.... Whan tonne you and god wyll: Quant brasserez vous,” &c. Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccclxxxxi. (Table of Verbes); and here Tunnyng means—Brewing.

P. 95. v. 1.

—I chyll, i. e. Ich wyll, I will. Compare Syr Gawayn and the Grene Knyȝt;

and the Prol. to Kyng Alisaunder;

Page 95. v. 4. gyll] Equivalent here to girl—a familiar name for a female; as in the proverb, “Every Jack must have his Gill:” supposed by some etymologists to be an abbreviation of Julia, Juliana, or Gillian; by Richardson (Dict. in v.) to be a corruption of giglot.

v. 6. gryll] “Grymm gryl and horryble ... horridus ... horribilis.” Prompt. Parv.,—MS. Harl. 221. (Ed. 1499 of that work omits “gryl..”) The word is of frequent occurrence; but its exact meaning here seems to be doubtful.

v. 12. lere] i. e. complexion, skin.

v. 14. chere] i. e. look, countenance.

v. 17. bowsy] i. e. bloated by drinking.

v. 21. here] i. e. hair.

v. 22. lewde] i. e. vile, nasty.

v. 23. sayne] i. e. say.

v. 25. glayre] i. e. viscous matter.

Page 96. v. 27.

—somdele hoked, i. e. somewhat hooked. “Camed or short nosed. Simus.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “A Camoise nose, that is to saie crooked vpward as the Morians [Moors].” Baret’s Alvearie. “Camuse. Flat.” Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales. “Camused. Flat, broad and crooked; as applied to a nose, what we popularly call a snub-nose.” Nares’s Gloss. Todd, quoting this passage of Skelton, explains camously, awry. Johnson’s Dict. in v.

v. 34. gowndy] So Lydgate;

“Gownde of the eye. Ridda, Albugo.” Prompt. Parv.,—MS. Harl. 221.

v. 35. vnsowndy] i. e. unsound.

v. 38. jetty] i. e. that part of a building which projects beyond the rest.

Page 96. v. 40.

i. e. what gums, fingers, and thumbs she has.

v. 45. huckels] i. e. hips.

v. 49. Foted] i. e. Footed.

v. 51. iet] i. e. strut: see note, p. 94. v. 43.

v. 52. fet] Means, perhaps, feat,—neat, handsome one.

v. 53. flocket] “Is described as a loose garment with large sleeves:” see Strutt’s Dress and Habits, &c. ii. 373.

v. 54. rocket] i. e. a garment, worn often without, and sometimes with sleeves; sometimes it was made to reach the ground, and sometimes much shorter and open at the sides. See Id. ibid.

v. 55. With symper the cocket] So Heywood in his Dialogue;

and Jonson in his Masque, The Gipsies Metamorphosed;

In a note on the latter passage, Whalley quotes from Cotgrave’s Dict.: “Coquine, a beggar-woman, also a cockney, simper de cockit, nice thing.” Gifford (ibid.) remarks, “Cocket was a fine species of bread, as distinguished from common bread; hence, perhaps, the name was given to an overstrained affectation of delicacy. To simper at, or over, a thing, is to touch it as in scorn.” Nares (Gloss. in v.) doubts (justly, I think) the connexion of simper-the-cocket with cocket bread, and explains it, “quasi simpering coquette,” observing, that “one of Cotgrave’s words in rendering ‘coquette’ is cocket.” I may add, that in Gloss. of Prov. and Loc. Words by Grose and Pegge, ed. 1839, is, “Cocket, brisk, apish, pert,” and “Simper, to mince one’s words.”

Page 97. v. 56.

“Huke surquanie, froc.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xli. (Table of Subst.). “A loose kind of garment, of the cloak or mantle kind.” Strutt’s Dress and Habits, &c. ii. 364. “Lyncolne anciently dyed the best greene of England.” Marg. note in Drayton’s Polyolbion, Song 25. p. 111. ed. 1622.—Compare a celebrated ballad;

Page 97. v. 63. woll] i. e. wool.

v. 68. gytes] i. e. clothes. Gite is properly a gown:

v. 69. pranked with pletes]—pletes, i. e. plaits. “I Pranke ones gowne I set the plyghtes in order.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccxxi. (Table of Verbes).

v. 70. Her kyrtel Brystow red]—kyrtel; see note, p. 149. v. 1194.

“At Brystowe is the best water to dye reed.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. V ii. ed. 1530.

v. 74. gyse] i. e. guise, fashion.

v. 75. whym wham] i. e. something whimsically, fantastically devised. The word is frequently applied to articles of female finery by our early dramatists. In Ane Interlude of the Laying of a Gaist, we are told that the Gaist (ghost)

Whim-wham is used by Gray, Works, iii. 123. ed. Mitford, and by Lamb, Prose Works, ii. 142.

v. 76. trym tram] i. e. some trim, neat ornament, or pretty trifle. In Weaver’s Lusty Juuentus, Hipocrisie, after enumerating a variety of popish trumpery, adds

v. 77. brayne pan] i. e. skull, head. See note, p. 100. v. 31.

v. 78. Egyptian] i. e. gipsy.

Page 98. v. 85. gose] i. e. goose.

v. 88. shone] i. e. shoes.

v. 90. baudeth] i. e. fouls. “I Baudy or fyle or soyle with any filthe, Ie souylle.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. clviii. (Table of Verbes). “The auter clothes, and the vestementes shulde be very clene, not baudy, nor torne,” &c. Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. E iiii.

Page 98. v. 94. wonnynge] i. e. dwelling.

v. 96. Sothray] i. e. Surrey.

v. 97. stede] i. e. place.

v. 98. Lederhede] i. e. Leatherhead; see p. 157.

v. 99. tonnysh gyb] The epithet tonnysh is perhaps derived from her occupation of tunning (see note, p. 158), or perhaps it may allude to her shape: gyb is properly a male cat (see note, p. 122. v. 27); but the term, as here, is sometimes applied to a woman;

v. 100. syb] i. e. related, akin.

v. 102. noppy] i. e. nappy.

v. 103. port sale] If the right reading, must be used here for—sale in general. “Port-sale, The Sale of Fish as soon as it is brought into the Harbour; also an Out-cry or Publick Sale of any Commodity.” Kersey’s Dict.

v. 105. To sweters, to swynkers] i. e. to those who sweat and labour hard,—to labourers of various kinds.

v. 110. Now away the mare] Skelton has the same expression in his Magnyfycence, v. 1342. vol. i. 268. Compare The Frere and the Boye;

and Jyl of Braintfords Testament, n. d.;

and A new Commodye &c. of the bewte & good propertes of women, &c. n. d.

The words are doubtless a portion of some song or ballad. In Ravenscroft’s Melismata, Musicall Phansies, &c. 1611, is a song (No. 6) supposed to be sung by “Seruants out of Seruice” who “are going to the Citie to looke for new;”

Page 99. v. 111. sley] i. e. slay.

v. 115. Wyth, Fyll the cup, fyll] So in The Hye Way to the Spyttell Hous, by Copland, n. d.;

v. 122. Hardely] i. e. Assuredly.

v. 123. heles dagged] In Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. is “Daggyd. Fractillosus,”—a sense in which Skelton certainly has the word elsewhere (Garlande of Laurell, v. 630. vol. i. 386); but here perhaps dagged may mean—be-mired: “I Daggyll or I dagge a thing with myer.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cciii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 124. kyrtelles] See note, p. 149. v. 1194.

—— all to-iagged] See note, p. 100. v. 32: “I Cutte or iagge a garment.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cciii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 130. tunnynge] i. e. brewing; see note, p. 158.

v. 131. leneth ... on] i. e. lendeth, furnisheth ... of: compare v. 491.

v. 139. sorte] i. e. set, company.

v. 142. skewed] Does it mean—distorted? or walking obliquely? or squinting? see Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. in v. Skew. A friend suggests that this epithet, as well as that in the preceding line, may be applied to colour,—the words being still used as terms of the stable.

Page 100. v. 143. sho clout] i. e. shoe-cloth.

v. 145. herelace] i. e. hair-band.

v. 147. tresses vntrust] So Lydgate;—“With heyr vntrussed.” Warres of Troy, B. iii. sig. S i. ed. 1555.

v. 148. vnlust] i. e. unpleasantness, unseemliness.

v. 149.

—loke, i. e. look: strawry I do not remember to have met with elsewhere: cawry mawry (as a substantive) occurs in Pierce Plowman;

Page 100. v. 151. vntydy] i. e. sluttish.

—— tegges] A term found again in our author’s first poem Against Garnesche;

In what sense Skelton uses tegge, I cannot pretend to determine. In Warwickshire and Leicestershire, a teg means a sheep of a year old; and Ray gives, “A Tagge, a Sheep of the first Year, Suss.” Coll. of Words, &c., p. 88, appended to Proverbs, ed. 1768.

v. 152. Lyke rotten egges] Lydgate in a satirical description of a lady has—

v. 153. lewde sorte] i. e. vile set, low rabble.

v. 155. tyde] i. e. time, season.

v. 161. commy] i. e. come.

v. 163. shreud aray]—shreud, i. e. evil, bad. “Araye condicion or case poynt.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xviii. (Table of Subst.); which, however, may not be the sense of aray in the present passage. We find:—“Soo with this rumoure came in syr launcelot and fond them al at a grete araye.” Morte d’Arthur, B. xix. c. vi. vol. ii. 374. ed. Southey; the next chapter beginning “What araye is this sayd sir Launcelot,” &c. “For al this foule araye, for al this great frai.” Mery Tales, Wittie Questions, &c., 1567. p. 18, reprint. See also our author’s sacred poem, Wofully araid, vol. i. 141, and note on it.

v. 171. draffe] i. e. hog-wash—either the coarse liquor, or brewers’ grains, with which swine are fed.

v. 173. swyllynge tubbe] i. e. tub in which swillings (hog-wash) are preserved for swine.

v. 174.

—prese, i. e. press, throng: dese, or dais, a word of doubtful etymology, generally means—a table of estate,—the upper table raised on a platform more elevated than the others. See Tyrwhitt’s note on Cant. Tales, v. 372; and Richardson’s Dict. in v. Dais. It sometimes signifies a long bench (see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v. Deis); and such seems to be its meaning here, as in the fourth line after this “the hye benche” is mentioned.—Roy in his satire against Wolsey, Rede me, and be nott wrothe, &c., has imitated the present passage of Skelton;

Page 101. v. 185.

—preuynge, i. e. proving.

—yuell cheuynge, i. e. evil ending, bad success.

See also Cocke Lorelles bote, sig. B i., Towneley Myst. p. 108, and Chaucer’s Chanones Yemannes Tale, v. 16693. ed. Tyr.

v. 189. patch] I know not how to explain.

v. 190. ron] i. e. run.

v. 192. ioust] i. e. joist.

v. 196. bolle] i. e. bowl.

v. 198. skommeth] i. e. skimmeth.

v. 199. Whereas] i. e. Where.

v. 201. blennes] i. e. blends.

Page 102. v. 212. And ye may it broke] i. e. If you may brook it.

v. 213. loke] i. e. look.

v. 218. ble] i. e. colour, complexion.

v. 219. Ich am] i. e. I am.

v. 222. In lust and in lykyng] See note, p. 98. v. 23.

v. 223. whytyng] So in our early dramas, whiting-mop (young whiting) is a cant term for a nice young woman, a tender creature: see Puttenham’s Arte of E. P., 1589. p. 184., and note in my ed. of Webster’s Works, in. 37.

v. 224. mullyng] This term of endearment occurs in the Coventry Mysteries, applied by one of the shepherds to the infant Saviour;

Compare also Hormanni Vulgaria: “This is a fayre and swete mullynge. Blandus est puerulus insigni festiuitate.” Sig. dd vii. ed. 1530.

—— mytyng] In the Towneley Mysteries, one of the shepherds says to the infant Saviour,

and Jamieson gives myting as a fondling designation for a child, Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang.—In our author’s third poem Against Garnesche, v. 115. vol. i. 123, “myteyng”—(but used as a term of contempt)—is, as here, the rhyme to “wyteyng.”

Since writing the above note, I have met with a passage in the comedy called Wily Beguilde, which might be adduced in support of the reading, “nytyng;” but I still think that “mytyng” is the true one: the dramatist evidently recollected Skelton’s poem, in the ed. of which he had found “nytyng,” “nittinge,” or “nittine:”—“Comely Pegge, my nutting, my sweeting, my Loue, my doue, my honnie, my bonnie, my ducke, my deare and my deareling.” Sig. C 4. ed. 1606.

Page 102. v. 225. His nobbes and his conny] So in a song in The Triall of Treasure, 1567;

conny, i. e. rabbit.

v. 227. Bas] i. e. Kiss.

—— bonny] i. e. precious one (rather than—beautiful one,—for it has the epithet “prety”).

v. 229. This make I my falyre fonny] This, i. e. Thus; see note, p. 86. v. 38: it has been suggested that falyre means fellow; which I doubt: fonny is, I suppose, foolishly amorous; compare—

v. 230. dronny] i. e. drone.

v. 232. rout] i. e. snore.

Page 103. v. 245. conny] i. e. rabbit.

v. 247. a salt] i. e. a salt-cellar.

—— spone] i. e. spoon.

v. 248. shone] i. e. shoon, shoes.

v. 250. a skellet] i. e. a skillet, a small kettle: in Suffolk it means a brass perforated implement for skimming the cream off milk; see Moor’s Suff. Words.

v. 251.

The meaning is—in the pot which was to hold the ale they brought wool “instede of monny” (v. 244).

Page 103. v. 254. athrust] i. e. a-thirst.

v. 258. slaty or slyder] i. e. miry or slippery.

Page 104. v. 266. renne] i. e. run.

v. 269. byrle] The word birl—to pour out, furnish for, or part drink among guests—(see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v., and Leyden’s Gloss. to The Comp. of Scotland in v. Beir)—is not very common in English literature: “the olde God of wyne called Baccus birlyng the wyne.” Hall’s Chronicle, (Hen. viii.) fol. lxxiii. ed. 1548.

v. 270. gest] i. e. guest.

v. 271. She swered by the rode of rest]—rode, i. e. rood,—cross: see note on Ware the Hauke, v. 69.

v. 280. haruest gyrdle] i. e. perhaps, a girdle worn at the feast after the gathering in of the corn.

v. 286. To offer to the ale tap] So in Jak Hare, a poem attributed to Lydgate;

v. 288. sowre dowe]—dowe, i. e. dough. “Sower dough leuayn.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxv. (Table of Subst.).

v. 289. howe] i. e. ho.

v. 292. And pype tyrly tyrlowe] Compare a Song belonging to the Tailors’ and Shearmen’s Pageant;

v. 295. hekell] i. e. comb for dressing flax.

v. 296. rocke] i. e. distaff.—In a poem entitled Cryste Crosse me Spede. A. B. C. Imprynted at London in Fletestrete at the sygne of the Sonne, by me Wynkyn de Worde, 4to. (which I know only from the account of it in Typog. Antiq. ii. 367. ed. Dibdin) are the following lines;

Though no edition of Elynour Rummyng has come down to us printed anterior to Cryste Crosse me Spede, the evident imitation of the former in the passage just quoted, shews that it must have existed.

Page 104. v. 298. wharrowe] i. e. whirl, or wharve, for a spindle. “A spyndell with a wharowe—fusus cum spondulo, siue verticillo siue harpage.” Hormanni Vulg. sig. t i. ed. 1530.

v. 299. rybskyn] In Prompt. Parv., ed. 1499, “Rybskyn” stands without a Latin term; but in the copy of that work, MS. Harl. 221, is “Rybbe skynn. Melotula.” In a MS. Catholicon in Lingua materna, dated 1483, I find “Rybbynge skyn. nebrida. pellicudia.” I may add that in Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530, “Rybbe skynne” occurs without the corresponding French, fol. lix. (Table of Subst.).—Does it mean (as Albert Way, Esq. has obligingly suggested to me) a leather apron, used during the operation of flax-dressing?

Page 105. v. 303. thrust] i. e. thirst.

v. 305.

So in The Worlde and the Chylde, 1522;

See also three epigrams by Heywood Of the winking Cat,—Workes, sig. P 4. ed. 1598.

v. 307. gommes] i. e. gums.

v. 308. crommes] i. e. crums.

v. 314. chaffer] i. e. merchandise.

v. 319. in all the hast] Compare: “Bulwarkes were made in all the haste.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. z iii. ed. 1530.

v. 320. vnlast] i. e. unlaced.

v. 323. all hallow] i. e. all saints,—perhaps, All-saints’ day.

v. 324.

For “stare,” which is the reading of all the eds., I have substituted “stale”—i. e. lure, decoy. “Stale of fowlys takinge.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. So in Marmyon’s Hollands Leaguer, 1632;

Compare too an epigram by Heywood;

and Cavendish’s Life of Wolsey; “At last, as ye have heard here before, how divers of the great estates and lords of the council lay in a-wait with my Lady Anne Boleyn, to espy a convenient time and occasion to take the cardinal in a brake.” p. 147. ed. 1827.—In our text, and in the passages just quoted, brake seems to be used for trap: among its various significations, it means a strong wooden frame for confining the feet of horses, preparatory to their being shod; see Gifford’s note on Jonson’s Works, iii. 463.

Page 105. v. 327. gambone] i. e. gammon.

v. 328. resty] i. e. reasty, rancid.

v. 330. Angry as a waspy]—waspy, i. e. wasp. So Heywood;

v. 331. yane] “I yane I gaspe or gape.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxi. (Table of Verbes).

—— gaspy] i. e. gasp.

Page 106. v. 332. go bet] Compare;

who observes that in the following lines of Chaucer’s Legend of Dido (288), go bet seems to be a term of the chase;

who supposes the words to be the name of some old dance.

Page 106. v. 333. met] i. e. measure.

v. 334. fet] i. e. fetched.

v. 335. spycke] “Spyk of flesshe. Popa.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. The copy of that work, MS. Harl. 221, has “Spyk or fet flesche,” &c.

v. 336. flycke] i. e. flitch.

v. 339. stut] i. e. stutter.

v. 343. sayne] i. e. says.

—— a fyest] So Hawes;

“A fiest, Tacitus flatus.” Withals’s Dict. p. 343. ed. 1634.

v. 346. wyth shamfull deth] Equivalent to—may you die with a shameful death! see Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales, in v. With.

v. 347. callettes] i. e. trulls, drabs, jades.

v. 348. I shall breake your palettes]—palettes, i. e. crowns, pates. So in a poem by Sir R. Maitland;

who, in the Gloss., wrongly explains it “cut your throat.”

v. 350. And so was made the peace] In confirmation of the reading which I have given, compare Reynard the Fox; “Thus was the pees made by fyrapel the lupaerd frendly and wel.” Sig. e 5. ed. 1481; and see note on v. 319. p. 168.

v. 354. sainct James in Gales] The body of Saint James the Great having, according to the legend, been buried at Compostella in Galicia (Gales), a church was built over it. Pilgrims flocked to the spot; several popes having granted the same indulgences to those who repaired to Compostella, as to those who visited Jerusalem. In The foure P. P. by Heywood, the Palmer informs us that he has been

v. 355. Portyngales] i. e. Portuguese.

v. 356. I wys] i. e. truly, certainly (i-wis, adv.).

v. 360. the Crosse in Chepe] Was originally erected in 1290 by Edward I. at one of the resting places of the body of his beloved Eleanor, in its progress from Herdeby, where she died, to Westminster Abbey, where she was buried; and was adorned with her image and arms. Of its being afterwards rebuilt,—of the conduits that were added to it, &c. &c. an account will be found in Stow’s Survey, B. iii. 35. ed. 1720, and Sup. to Gent. Mag. for 1764, vol. 34. 607. This structure was barbarously demolished in 1643, as a monument of Popish superstition.

Page 106. v. 362. route] i. e. disorderly crowd.

Page 107. v. 364.

—pose, i. e. a rheum in the head. So Chaucer;

See also Reves Tale, v. 4149.

v. 371. fyll] i. e. fell.

v. 372. barlyhood] Or barlikhood, is said to mean a fit of obstinacy or violent ill-humour produced by drunkenness: see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. and Supp. in v.; also Stevenson’s addition to Boucher’s Gloss. in v. Barlic.

v. 378. newe ale in cornes] So in Thersytes, n. d.;

“New ale in cornes. Ceruisia cum recrementis.” Baret’s Alvearie, in v. Ale.

v. 386. fabell] i. e. talking.

v. 387. babell] i. e. babbling.

v. 388.

Whether folys fylly means a foolish young jade (a filly,—compare what follows), or foolish Philly (Phillis,—compare our author’s Bowge of Court, v. 370. vol. i. 44); and whether or not wylly is meant for a proper name (as it is given in the comparatively recent ed. of Rand), let the reader judge.

v. 390. Iast you, and, gup, gylly] See note, p. 99. v. 17. “What gyppe gyll with a galde backe, begynne you to kycke nowe: Hey de par le diable gilotte,” &c. Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cclxxii. (Table of Verbes). So Dunbar uses gillot for a young mare; see his Poems, i. 65, ii. 459 (note), ed. Laing.

v. 394. sennet] i. e. sennight, week.

Page 108. v. 395. pay] i. e. satisfaction, content.

v. 397. Of thyne ale let vs assay]—assay, i. e. try, taste. So in Pierce Plowman;

Page 108. v. 398. pylche] i. e. cloak of skins.

v. 399. conny] i. e. rabbit.

v. 490. loke] i. e. look.

—— donny] Richardson, Dict. in vv. Dun, Dunny, cites this line as containing an example of the latter word,—rightly, perhaps, for donne (dun) occurs in Skelton’s Magnyfycence, v. 1102. vol. i. 257.—The common people of Ireland employ donny in the sense of—poor, mean-looking, as “a donny creature;” also in the sense of—poorly, as “How are you to-day?”—“Och! but donny, very donny.” For this information I am indebted to the kindness of Miss Edgeworth, who has used the word in one of her excellent tales.

v. 407. blommer] i. e., perhaps, noise, uproar.

v. 408. a skommer] i. e. a skimmer.

v. 409. a slyce] “Sclyce to tourne meate tournoire.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxii. (Table of Subst.).

v. 412. sterte] i. e. started, rushed.

v. 414. somdele seke] i. e. somewhat sick.

v. 415. a peny cheke] Does it mean—a puny chick?

v. 418. Margery Mylkeducke] So again in our author’s Magnyfycence;

Compare one of the Coventry Mysteries;

v. 419.

—kyrtell; see note, p. 149. v. 1194.—So in our old ballad poetry;

v. 422. stubbed] i. e. short and thick.

v. 423. pestels] i. e. legs,—so called, perhaps, because the leg-bone resembles a pestle used in a mortar. The expression “pestle of pork” frequently occurs in our early writers; as in the following passage concerning the tremendous appetite of Charlemagne; “Whan he took hys repaast he was contente wyth lytel brede, but as touchyng the pytaunce, he ete at his repaast a quarter of moton, or ii hennes, or a grete ghoos, or a grete pestel of porke, or a pecok, or a crane, or an hare all hool.” Caxton’s Lyf of Charles the Grete, &c., 1485. sig. b iii.

Page 108. v. 423. clubbed] i. e. like clubs.

v. 425. fote] i. e. foot.

v. 426. foule] i. e. ugly: see note, p. 130. v. 442.

Page 109. v. 429. cantell] i. e. corner, piece, fragment.

v. 431. quycke] i. e. live.

v. 435. punyete] i. e. pungent.

v. 436. sorte] i. e. set, company.

v. 441. I wote nere] i. e. I know never, not.

v. 443. podynges and lynkes] “Links, a kind of Pudding, the skin being filled with Pork Flesh, and seasoned with diverse Spices, minced, and tied up at distances.” R. Holme’s Ac. of Armory, 1688. B. iii. p. 83. In Scotland the terms puddings and links are applied to various intestines of animals.

v. 447. leche] i. e. physician, doctor.—Dunbar makes a distinction, which I do not understand;

v. 450. keke] i. e. kick.

v. 451. the vertue of an vnset leke] “Vnsette lekes be of more vertue than they that be sette ... præstant in medicina.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. f ii. ed. 1530.

v. 452. breke] i. e. breeches.

v. 453. feders] i. e. feathers.

v. 460. noughty froslynges] i. e. worthless things, stunted by frost. In Suffolk, froslin is applied to any thing—a lamb, a goslin, a chicken, an apple, &c., nipped, or pinched, or injured by frost: see Moor’s Suffolk Words, Appendix.

Page 110. v. 462. callet] i. e. trull, drab, jade.

v. 465. wretchockes] “The famous imp yet grew a wretchock; and though for seven years together he was carefully carried at his mother’s back, rocked in a cradle of Welsh cheese, like a maggot, and there fed with broken beer, and blown wine of the best daily, yet looks as if he never saw his quinquennium.” Jonson’s Masque, The Gipsies Metamorphosed,—Workes, vii. 371. ed. Gifford, who thus comments on the passage in his authoritative style: “i. e. pined away, instead of thriving. Whalley appears to have puzzled himself sorely in this page, about a matter of very little difficulty. In every large breed of domestic fowls, there is usually a miserable little stunted creature, that forms a perfect contrast to the growth and vivacity of the rest. This unfortunate abortive, the goodwives, with whom it is an object of tenderness, call a wrethcock; and this is all the mystery. Was Whalley ignorant that what we now term chick, was once chocke and chooke?” The fol. ed. of the Masque of Gipsies has “wretch-cock,” which Nares, who does not know what to make of the word, observes “would admit of an easy derivation from wretch and cock, meaning a poor wretched fowl.” Gloss. in v.

Page 110. v. 466. shyre shakyng nought] i. e. sheer worthless. So again our author in his Magnyfycence;

v. 475. fall] i. e. fallen.

v. 483. foggy] “Foggy, to full of waste flesshe.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxxxviii. (Table of Adiect.).

v. 489. craw] i. e. crop, stomach.

v. 491. on] i. e. of: compare v. 131.

Page 111. v. 492. an old rybibe] Chaucer, in The Freres Tale, says,

who says he cannot guess how this musical instrument came to be put for an old woman, “unless perhaps from its shrillness.” The word so applied occurs also in Jonson’s Devil is an Ass, act i. sc. 1, where Gifford observes, “Ribibe, together with its synonym rebeck, is merely a cant expression for an old woman. A ribibe, the reader knows, is a rude kind of fiddle, and the allusion is probably to the inharmonious nature of its sounds.” Works, v. 8.

v. 493. She halted of a kybe] i. e. She limped from a chap in the heel. The following remedy is seriously proposed in The Countrie Farme, and was no doubt applied by our ancestors: “For kibes on the heeles, make powder of old shooe soles burned, and of them with oile of roses annoint the kibes; or else lay vnto the kibes the rinde of a pomegranat boiled in wine.” p. 83. ed. 1600.

v. 496.

Compare The foure P. P. by Heywood;

v. 498. wroken] i. e. wreaked.

v. 501. on Gods halfe] i. e. “on God’s part, with God’s favour.” Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales. “A goddes halfe: De par dieu.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxxxvi. (Table of Aduerbes).

Page 111. v. 503. beshrew] i. e. curse.

v. 506. lampatrams] A word which I am unable to explain.

v. 507. shap] i. e. pudendum: see Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xxvi. (Table of Subst.). So in a description of purgatory-punishments in the metrical legend of Owayne Myles;

v. 512. stert] i. e. started.

v. 515. dant] In Kilian’s Dict. is “Dante. Ambubaia, mulier ignaua.” ed. 1605; and in Gloss. to West. and Cumb. Dialect, “Dannet, a ... woman of disreputable character:” but, for aught I know, the word in the text may have some very different signification.

v. 516. a gose and a gant] Must mean here,—a goose and a gander: yet Skelton in Phyllyp Sparowe mentions first “the gose and the gander,” and afterwards “the gaglynge gaunte:” see note, p. 130. v. 447.

v. 517. wesant] i. e. weasand.

v. 519. olyfant] i. e. elephant.

v. 520. bullyfant] Another word which I do not understand.

v. 522. hedes] i. e. heads.

Page 112. v. 525. ale pole] i. e. pole, or stake, set up before an ale-house by way of sign.

v. 535. A strawe, sayde Bele, stande vtter]—stande vtter, i. e. stand more out, back.

v. 538. sterte] i. e. started.

—— fysgygge] “Trotiere: A raumpe, fisgig, fisking huswife, raunging damsell, gadding or wandring flirt.” Cotgrave’s Dict. “Fiz-gig, a wild flirting wench.” Dialect of Craven, &c.

v. 543. gat] i. e. got.

v. 549. quod] i. e. quoth.

—— hyght] i. e. called.

v. 550. bybyll] i. e. drink, tipple.

v. 553. Wheywormed] i. e. covered with whey-worms,—pimples from which a whey-like moisture exudes.

Page 113. v. 555. puscull] i. e. pustule.

v. 556. muscull] i. e. muscle,—the shell of which is frequently “scabbyd.”

Page 113. v. 557. noppy] i. e. nappy.

v. 558. soppy] i. e. sop.

v. 560. mote I hoppy] i. e. may I have good hap.

v. 561. coleth] i. e. cooleth.

—— croppy] i. e. crop, stomach.

v. 563. Haue here is for me] See note, p. 118. v. 413.

v. 573. defoyled] i. e. defiled.

v. 575. sorte] i. e. set, company.

v. 582. a pryckemedenty] i. e. one affectedly nice, finical.

v. 583.

—seynty, i. e. saint: paynty, i. e. paint,—feign: faynty, i. e. faint. Compare our author’s Colyn Cloute;

v. 587. a lege de moy] So again in our author’s Colyn Cloute;

I have not found elsewhere the term lege de moy. Mace, in his Musick’s Monument, 1676, mentions a Tattle de Moy,—“a New Fashion’d Thing, much like a Seraband; only It has more of Conceit in It, as (in a manner) speaking the word (Tattle de Moy),” &c. p. 129.

Page 114. v. 594. I wys] i. e. truly, certainly (i-wis, adv.).

v. 598. spence] i. e. store-room, for drink, or victuals: “Spens a buttrye despencier.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxvi. (Table of Subst.).

v. 609. awne] i. e. own.

v. 610. Neyther gelt nor pawne] i. e. Neither money nor pledge.

v. 615. balke] i. e. beam, post: “Balke of an house pouste.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xix. (Table of Subst.).

v. 616. tayle] i. e. tally. “A payre of taylles, suche as folke vse to score vpon for rekennyng.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xiii. (Thirde Boke).

v. 617. yll hayle] i. e. ill health,—ill luck,—a common imprecation in our old poetry;

See too Chester Mysteries (De Del. Noe), p. 27. Roxb. ed.

Page 114. v. 619. to mytche] i. e. too much.

v. 620. mummynge] i. e. frolicking, merriment.

Page 115. v. 622. gest] i. e. story. “Gest or romauns.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 623. this worthy fest] So in the Coventry Mysteries;

and in Cavendish’s Life of Wolsey, “It is not to be doubted but that the king was privy of all this worthy feast.” p. 199. ed. 1827.

Quod] i. e. Quoth.

All the particulars concerning Garnesche, which I have been able to discover will be found in the Account of Skelton and his Writings.

Page 116. v. 1. Sithe] i. e. Since.

v. 4. Syr Tyrmagant]—or Termagant,—a very furious deity, whom the Crusaders and romance-writers charged the Saracens with worshipping, though there was certainly no such Saracenic divinity. Concerning the name, see Gifford’s note on Massinger’s Works, ii. 125. ed. 1813, and Nares’s Gloss. in v.—So in The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy, which in various minute particulars bears a strong resemblance to the present pieces Against Garnesche;

—— tyrnyd] i. e. tourneyed, encountered.

v. 5. Syr Frollo de Franko] Was a Roman knight, governor of Gaul, slain by King Arthur: see Geoffrey of Mon. l. ix. cap. ii., The Legend of King Arthur, Percy’s Rel. of A. E. P. iii. 39. ed. 1794, &c. &c.

—— talle] i. e. valiant.

v. 6. Syr Satrapas] Neither with this, nor with the personage mentioned in the next line, have I any acquaintance.

v. 8. haue ye kythyd yow a knyght]—kythyd, i. e. made known, shewn.

Garnesche had the dignity of knighthood; see Account of Skelton and his Writings. In the heading, and first line, of this poem, he is called Master; but knights were frequently so addressed. In Cavendish’s Life of Wolsey mention is made of “Sir William Fitzwilliams, a knight,” who is presently called “Master Fitzwilliams,” pp. 310, 311. ed. 1827, and of “Sir Walter Walshe, knight,” who is immediately after termed “Master Walshe,” pp. 339, 340, and of “that worshipful knight Master Kingston,” p. 374.

Page 116. v. 8. Syr Dugles the dowty] “The high courage of Dowglasse wan him that addition of Doughty Dowglasse, which after grew to a Prouerbe.” Marg. Note on the description of the Battle of Shrewsbury, in Drayton’s Polyolbion, Song 22. p. 37. ed. 1622.

v. 9. currysly] i. e. currishly.

v. 10. stowty] i. e. stout.

v. 11. Barabas] The robber mentioned in Scripture.

—— Syr Terry of Trace]—Trace, i. e. Thrace: but I do not recollect any romance or history in which a Sir Terry of that country is mentioned.

v. 12. gyrne] i. e. grin.

—— gomys] i. e. gums.

v. 15. Syr Ferumbras the ffreke]—ffreke (common in romance-poetry in the sense of—man, warrior) is here, as the context shews, equivalent to furious fellow: we have had the word before, see p. 109. v. 187. Consult the analysis of the romance of Sir Ferumbras in Ellis’s Spec. of Met. Rom. ii. 356, and Caxton’s Lyf of Charles the Grete, &c., 1485, for much about this Saracen, called in the latter Fyerabras,—“a meruayllous geaunte,”—“whyche was vaynquysshed by Olyuer, and at the laste baptysed, and was after a Saynt in heuen.” Sig. b viii.

v. 16. Syr capten of Catywade, catacumbas of Cayre] Cayre is Cairo; but I am unable to explain the line. In the opening of Heywood’s Four P. P., the Palmer says, he has been at “the graet God of Katewade,” alluding, as O. Gilchrist thinks, to Catwade-bridge in Sampford hundred in Suffolk, where there may have been a famous chapel and rood; see Dodsley’s Old Plays, i. 61. last ed.

v. 17. Thow] i. e. Though.

—— Syr Lybyus] See note, p. 138. v. 649.

v. 18. contenons oncomly] i. e. countenance uncomely.

v. 19. apayere] i. e. impair—become less.

Page 117. v. 22. Of Mantryble the Bryge, Malchus the murryon]—murryon, i. e. Moor; so in the third of these poems, Skelton calls Garnesche “Thou murrionn, thou mawment,” v. 170. vol. i. 125; so too in the Scottish Treasurer’s Accounts for 1501, “Peter the Moryen,” Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 306. ed. Laing; and in a folio broadside, M. Harry Whobals mon to M. Camell, &c. (among the “flytings” of Churchyard and Camell), “Some morryon boye to hold ye vp.” If the present passage means that the Bridge was guarded by a Moor called Malchus, I know not what authority Skelton followed. Concerning the Bridge of Mantryble see the analysis of the romance of Sir Ferumbras, Ellis’s Spec. of Met. Rom. ii. 389; and Caxton’s Lyf of Charles the Grete, &c., 1485, “Of the meruayllous bridge of Mantryble, of the trybute there payed for to passe ouer,” &c., sig. e viii., and how “the strong brydge of mantryble was wonne not wythoute grete payne,” sig. h viii.: it was kept by a giant, named Algolufre in the former, and Galafre in the latter, who was slain by the Frenchmen when the Bridge was won. In The Bruce of Barbour, the hero reads to his followers “Romanys off worthi Ferambrace” and how Charlemagne “wan Mantrybill and passit Flagot.” B. ii. v. 832 sqq. ed. Jam. “The tail of the brig of the mantribil” is mentioned in The Complaynt of Scotland, p. 98. ed. Leyden. Compare also Don Quixote; “nor that [history] of Fierabras, with the Bridge of Mant[r]ible, which befell in Charlemaines time, and is, I sweare, as true, as that it is day at this instant.” P. i. B. iv. c. xxii. p. 546., Shelton’s trans., 1612.

Page 117. v. 23. blake Baltazar with hys basnet routh as a bere] Does blake Baltazar mean one of the Magi, or, as they were commonly called, the Three Kings of Cologne? “the third, Balthasar, a black or Moor, with a large spreading beard,” &c. Festa Anglo-Romana, p. 7, cited in Brand’s Pop. Ant. i. 19 (note), ed. 1813: with hys basnet routh as a bere, i. e. with his cap (not helmet, it would seem,) rough as a bear.

v. 24. Lycon, that lothly luske]—Lycon is probably Lycaon; see note, p. 127. v. 311. “Here is a great knaue i. a great lyther luske, or a stout ydell lubbar.” Palsgrave’s Acolastus, 1540. sig. X ii. “Luske a vyle parsone ribavlt, esclaue, lovrdavlt.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlvi. (Table of Subst.). The word is often used as a term of reproach in general.

v. 25. brymly] i. e. fiercely, ruggedly.

—— here] i. e. hair.

v. 26. bake] i. e. back.

—— gere] i. e. dress.

v. 30. a camoke] Is explained—a crooked stick, or tree; a crooked beam, or knee of timber.

v. 31. teggys] See note, p. 164. v. 151.

Page 117. v. 33. Orwelle hyr hauyn] By Harwich.

v. 36. Sarson] i. e. Saracen. So in The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy (see note, p. 177. v. 4), “Sarazene, syphareit,” &c. Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 75. ed. Laing.

—— ble] i. e. colour, complexion.

v. 37. As a glede glowynge] i. e. glowing like a burning coal:—but qy. did Skelton write “as a glede glowrynge?” i. e. staring like a kite. He uses glede in this latter sense in Magnyfycence, v. 1059. vol. i. p. 259: and in The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy (see note, p. 177. v. 4) we find,—

—— ien] i. e. eyne, eyes.

v. 39. passe] i. e. excel.

v. 40. Howkyd as an hawkys beke, lyke Syr Topyas] i. e. Hooked, &c. The allusion is to Chaucer’s Sire Thopas, who “had a semely nose.” v. 13659. ed. Tyr.

v. 41. buske] i. e. prepare, or rather, perhaps, hie.

v. 42. fole] i. e. fool.

Be] i. e. By.

gorbelyd] i. e. big-bellied.

Godfrey] Concerning this person, who assisted Garnesche in his compositions, and is afterwards called his scribe, I can give the reader no information.

Page 118. v. 2. [Your] gronynge, ȝour grontynge, your groinynge lyke a swyne] Skelton has elsewhere;

To groin is explained to groan, to grunt, to growl; but perhaps our author may have used it like the French “Groigner. To nuzle, or to root with the snout.” Cotgrave’s Dict.

v. 3. alle to peuiche] See note, p. 100. v. 32.

v. 4. mantycore] See note, p. 127. v. 294.

—— maltaperte] i. e. malapert, (perhaps an error of the transcriber).

v. 5. lere] i. e. complexion, skin.

—— gresyd bote] i. e. greased boot.

Page 118. v. 6.

—Cayface, i. e. Caiaphas: copious is perhaps an allusion to some sort of cope, in which that personage might have figured on the stage. The usual explanations of paltock (“Paltok. Baltheus,” Prompt. Parv.; “a short garment of the doublet kind,” Strutt’s Dress and Habits, &c. ii. 352) do not seem to suit the present passage. In Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lii. (Table of Subst.) we find “Paltocke a patche palleteau;” and see what immediately follows in this poem: Thow, i. e. Though: chek mate; see note, p. 96. v. 29.

Compare The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy (see note, p. 177. v. 4)

v. 8. Hole] i. e. Whole, healed.

—— Deu[ra]ndall] Was the celebrated sword of Roland: see (among other works which might be referred to) Caxton’s Lyf of Charles the Grete, &c., 1485, “How Rolland deyed holyly after many martyres and orysons made to god ful deuoutely, and of the complaynte maad for hys swerde durandal.” Sig. m i.

—— awne] i. e. own.

v. 11. Ye countyr vmwhyle to capcyously, and ar ye be dysiryd]—countyr; see note, p. 92: vmwhyle, i. e. some time: to, i. e. too: ar, i. e. ere.

v. 12. all to-myryd] See note, p. 100. v. 32,—meaning, I suppose, all befouled.

v. 15. Gabionyte of Gabyone] So in his Replycacion agaynst certayne yong scolers, &c. Skelton calls them “Gabaonitæ,” vol. i. 218.

—— gane] “I Gane or gape.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccxliii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 16. Huf a galante] Compare;

In some Glossary, to which I have lost the reference, is “Huff, a gallant.”

Page 118. v. 16. loke] i. e. look.

v. 17. Lusty] See note on title of the next poem, p. 183.

—— jet] i. e. strut; see note, p. 94. v. 43.

—— jaspe] Does it mean—wasp?

v. 19. that of your chalennge makyth so lytyll fors] i. e. that maketh (make) so little matter of your challenge.

Page 119. v. 22. Syr Gy, Syr Gawen, Syr Cayus, for and Syr Olyuere] Concerning the two first see notes, p. 136. v. 629: Cayus, or Kay, was the foster-brother of King Arthur; see the Morte d’Arthur, &c. &c.: for and is an expression occasionally found in much later writers; see Middleton’s Fair Quarrel, act v. sc. 1., Works, iii. 544. ed. Dyce; and Beaumont and Fletcher’s Knight of the Burning Pestle,—

a passage which the modern editors have most absurdly altered: Olyuere was one of the twelve peers of France.

v. 23. Priamus] Perhaps the personage so named, who fought with Gawayne, and was afterwards made a knight of the Round Table; see Morte d’Arthur, B. v. ch. x. xii. vol. i. 148 sqq. ed. Southey.

v. 24. Arturys auncyent actys] An allusion, perhaps, more particularly to the Morte d’Arthur; see its other title in note, p. 137. v. 634.

v. 25. fysnamy] i. e. physiognomy. So in The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy (see note, p. 177. v. 4.)

v. 26. to hawte] i. e. too haughty.

—— I wys] i. e. truly, certainly (i-wis, adv.).

v. 29. Godfrey] See note on title of this poem, p. 180.

—— gargons] i. e. Gorgon’s.

v. 30. Syr Olifranke] Qy. a mistake of the transcriber for Syr Olifaunte, the giant mentioned in Chaucer’s Sire Thopas?

—— splay] i. e. display.

v. 31. Baile] Seems to mean—howl, cry. “I Balle as a curre dogge doth, Ie hurle.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. clvii. (Table of Verbes).

—— folys] i. e. fools.

v. 32. ȝe] i. e. ye.

Page 119. v. 36. Gup] See note, p. 99. v. 17.

—— gorbellyd] i. e. big-bellied.

v. 37. turney] i. e. tourney, contend.

—— to fare to seke] i. e. too far at a loss, inexperienced,—unable.

v. 38. whypslovens] A term which I do not understand.

—— a coke stole] i. e. a cucking-stool, a chair or stool fixed at the end of a long pole, used for the punishment of scolds and brawlers by plunging them in the water.

v. 39. mantycore] See note, p. 127. v. 294.

—— marmoset] A kind of ape, or monkey.

Page 120.—— lusty Garnyche welle be seyn Crysteouyr] Both these epithets allude to his dress: “Lusty or fresshe in apparayle frisque.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xci. (Table of Adiect.): welle be seyn; see note, p. 112. v. 283.—Compare Dunbar;

v. 1. lewde] i. e. ignorant, vile.

v. 3. skrybe] Printed by mistake in the text “skryke”—means Godfrey; see note on title of the preceding poem, p. 180, and compare v. 90 of the present.

v. 6. I caste me] i. e. I project, design.

v. 9. fauyr] i. e. appearance, look.

v. 11. cousshons] i. e. cushions.

v. 12. condycyonns] i. e. qualities, dispositions, habits. “Condycions maners meurs.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., fol. xxv. (Table of Subst.). “Whan a man is set in autoryte, than shall his condycyons be spyed ... Mores deprehenduntur.” “Thy good condycyons ... virtutes tuas.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. N i. ed. 1530.

v. 13. Gup, marmeset, jast ye, morelle] See notes, p. 93. v. 11. p. 99. v. 17, and this page, v. 39.

v. 14. lorelle] i. e. good-for-nothing fellow (see Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales).

v. 15. Lewdely] i. e. Badly, (as in v. 18 lewdnes, i. e. badness); but in v. 19 it is to be understood in its more original meaning—ignorantly.

v. 18. awne] i. e. own.

v. 20. ȝe] i. e. ye.

v. 21. to wyde] i. e. too wide.

Page 120. v. 26. dryvyll] See note, p. 113. v. 337.

v. 27. your nose dedde sneuylle] So in The Flytyng of Dunbar and Kennedy (see note, p. 177. v. 4);

v. 30. fonne] i. e. fool.

v. 31. A gose with the fete vponne] i. e. a goose with its feet on.

Page 121. v. 32. slvfferd vp] i. e. slabbered up.

—— sowse] “Succiduum. anglice. sowce.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d. (and so Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499). “Souce trippes.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxv. (Table of Subst.). And see Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. and Richardson’s Dict. in v.

v. 34. xulde] i. e. should: a provincialism (see, for instance, the Coventry Mysteries passim), to be attributed not to Skelton, but to the transcriber.

v. 36. bawdy] i. e. foul; see note, p. 161. v. 90.

v. 38. haftynge] See note, p. 107. v. 138.

—— polleynge] i. e. plundering.

v. 40. Gynys] i. e. Guines.

v. 41. spere] i. e. spire, shoot,—stripling.

v. 42. lewdly] i. e. vilely, meanly.

—— gere] i. e. apparel.

v. 46. dud frese] i. e. coarse frieze.

v. 52. ȝe] i. e. ye.

v. 53. warde] i. e. wardrobe.

v. 54. kyst a shepys ie] i. e. cast a sheep’s eye.

v. 56. gonge] i. e. privy.

v. 62. bassyd] i. e. kissed.

Page 122. v. 68. pyllyd garleke hed] Palsgrave has both “Pylled, as one that wanteth heare,” and “Pylled scalled.” Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xciii. (Table of Adiect.). Compare the next poem Against Garnesche;

Pilled-garlick was a term applied to a person whose hair had fallen off by disease; see Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. in v.

v. 69. hocupy there no stede] i. e. occupy there no place, stand in no stead,—avail nothing.

v. 70. Syr Gy of Gaunt] So our author again, in his Colyn Cloute;

In The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy (which, as already shewn, strongly resembles the present pieces Against Garnesche in several minute particulars) we find—

and at p. 37 of the same vol., in The Droichis Part of the Play, attributed to Dunbar,—

So too Sir D. Lyndsay in his Epistill to the Kingis Grace before his Dreme,—

who explains it “the well-known Sir Guy of romance.” But both Dunbar and Lyndsay allude to a story concerning the ghost of a person called Guy, an inhabitant of Alost. There is a Latin tract on the subject, entitled De spiritu Guuidonis, of which various translations into English are extant in MS. One of these is now before me, in verse, and consisting of 16 closely written 4to pages: Here begynnyth a notabyll matere and a gret myracule don be oure lord ihesus cryst and shewyd In the ȝeer of his incarnacion MCCCXXIII. [printed Latin tract now before me has MCCCXXIIII.] and in the xvi day of decembyr in the Cete of Aleste. Whiche myracule ys of a certeyn man that was callyd Gy. and deyde and aftyr viii days he apperyd to his wyf aftyr the comaundment of god. of whiche apperyng she was aferd and oftyn tyme rauysshid. Than she toke conseyl and went to the ffreris of the same cete and tolde the Pryor ffrere Iohnn goly of this mater, &c. As Gaunt is the old name of Ghent, and as Alost is about thirteen miles from that city, perhaps the reader may be inclined to think,—what I should greatly doubt,—that Skelton also alludes to the same story.

Page 122. v. 71. olyfaunt] i. e. elephant.

v. 72. pykes] i. e. pickaxe. “Pykeys. Ligo. Marra.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

—— twybyll] “Twybyll writis instrument. Bisacuta. Biceps.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “Twybill or mactok. Marra. Ligo.” Ibid. “Bipennis ... a twyble or axe, a twall.” Ortus Vocab. ed. 1514. (in the earlier ed. fol. n. d. W. de Worde, the English explanation is less full). “Twyble an instrument for carpentars bernago.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxxi. (Table of Subst.).

Page 122. v. 75. wary] Is frequently found in the sense of curse,—

but here, I apprehend, it means—war, contend.

v. 79. eldyr steke] i. e. elder-stick.

v. 87. sowtters] i. e. shoemakers, cobblers.

v. 88. seche a nody polle] i. e. such a silly head, ninny.

v. 89. pryste] i. e. priest.

v. 90. your scrybys nolle] i. e. your scribe’s head,—Godfrey’s; see note on title of the preceding poem, p. 180.

v. 91. fonde] i. e. foolish.

v. 93. make] i. e. compose verses.

v. 94. dawpate] i. e. simple pate, simpleton; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

Page 123. v. 101. Bolde bayarde] The proverbial expression, “as bold as blind bayard,”—(bayard, properly a bay horse, but used for a horse in general),—is very ancient, and of very frequent occurrence in our early literature; its origin is not known:

v. 102. kynde] i. e. nature.

v. 108.

i. e. You would be called a composer of verses, or poet, and you compose much in the style of Jack Raker. So again our author;

So too in the comedy by Nicholas Udall, entitled Ralph Royster Doyster;

Mr. Collier (Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poet. ii. 448) speaks of Jack Raker as if he really had existed: I rather think that he was an imaginary person, whose name had become proverbial.

v. 110. crakar] i. e. vaunter, big talker.

Page 123. v. 114. despyghtyng] “I Dispyte I grutche or reprime agaynst a thing.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccxiiii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 115. nat worthe a myteyng]—myteyng (which occurs in our author’s Elynour Rummyng as a term of endearment, v. 224. vol. i. 102) is here perhaps equivalent to “Myte the leest coyne that is pite.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlviii. (Table of Subst.).

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

v. 118. occupyed no better your tole] i. e. used no better your tool, pen: see note, p. 86. v. 52.

v. 119. Ye xulde haue kowththyd me a fole] i. e. You should have made me known for, shewn me to be, a fool.

v. 121. wyse] i. e. think, intend.

v. 122. xall] i. e. shall.

v. 123. Thow] i. e. Though.

—— Sarsens] i. e. Saracen’s.

v. 124. Row] i. e. Rough.

—— here] i. e. hair.

v. 125. heuery] i. e. every.

v. 127. peson] i. e. pease.

v. 129. geson] i. e. scarce, scanty.

v. 131.

—shuruy, i. e., perhaps, “shrovy, squalid.” Forby’s Vocab. of East Anglia. With this passage compare The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy (see note, p. 177. v. 4);

Page 124. v. 139. Xall kyt both wyght and grene] i. e. Shall cut both white and green,—an allusion to the dress which our author appears to have worn as Laureat; see Account of Skelton and his Writings.

v. 140. to grett] i. e. too great.

v. 143. puauntely] i. e. stinkingly, strongly.

v. 155. crawes] i. e. crops, stomachs.

v. 157. perke] i. e. perch.

v. 158. gummys] i. e. gums.

Page 124. v. 159. serpentins] “His campe was enuironed with artilerie, as fawcones, serpentynes, cast hagbushes,” &c. Hall’s Chronicle (Henry viii.), fol. xxviii. ed. 1548.

v. 160. bynde] i. e. bend; so in the next poem we find “wyll” for “well,” and “spynt” for “spent,” peculiarities to be attributed to the transcriber, not to Skelton.

v. 162. scorpyone] So in The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy (see note, p. 177. v. 4) “scorpion vennemous.” Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 75. ed. Laing.

v. 163. bawdy babyone] i. e. filthy baboon; see note, p. 161. v. 90.

v. 165. mantycore] See note, p. 127. v. 294.

v. 168. gresly gargone] i. e. grisly Gorgon.

—— glaymy] i. e., I suppose, slimy, clammy.

v. 169. seymy] i. e. greasy.

Page 125. v. 170. murrionn] i. e. Moor; see note, p. 178. v. 22.

—— mawment] “Mawment. Idolum. Simulacrum.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “Maument marmoset, poupee.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlvii. (Table of Subst.). “Mawment, a puppet.” Brockett’s Gloss. of North Country Words.—(Mawmet, i. e. Mahomet.)

v. 172. marmoset] A sort of ape or monkey.

v. 173. I wyll nat dy in they det]—they, i. e. thy; as in the next poem.—Compare Cocke Lorelles Bote;

v. 175. xulddst] i. e. shouldst.

v. 176. xall] i. e. shall.

v. 177. hole] i. e. whole.

v. 178. Soche pelfry thou hast pachchyd] I do not understand this line: pelfry is, perhaps, pilfery; but does it not rather mean—petty goods,—which Garnesche had pachchyd, fraudulently got together? “Muche of theyr fishe they do barter with English men, for mele, lases, and shoes, and other pelfery.” Borde’s Boke of knowledge, sig. I, reprint. “Owt of whyche countre the sayd Scottys fled, and left mych corne, butters, and other pylfre, behinde theim, whyche the ost hade.” Letter from Gray to Crumwell, State Papers, iii. 155,—the Vocabulary to which renders pylfre, pillage—wrongly, I believe.

v. 179. houyr wachyd] i. e. over watched.

v. 180. thou xuldyst be rachchyd] i. e. thou shouldest be stretched—have thy neck stretched. So in The Flytyng of Dunbar and Kennedy (see note, p. 177. v. 4);

Page 125. v. 182. be bedawyd] Does it mean—be daunted? or, be called simple fellow? see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 183. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 184. gronde] i. e. ground.

v. 186. Syr Dalyrag] So our author elsewhere;

v. 187. brag] i. e. proud, insolent.

v. 189. kyt ... to large] i. e. cut ... too large.

v. 190. Suche pollyng paiaunttis ye pley] i. e. Such plundering pageants, thievish pranks, you play. The expression to “play a pageant”—to play a part,—has before occurred, see note, p. 88. v. 85. With the present passage compare: “This one pageant hath stayned al other honest dedes ... flagitium.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. N v. ed. 1530. “That was a wyly pageaunt ... commentum.” Id. sig. N vi. “Thou gatest no worshyp by this pageant ... facinore.” Id. sig. P v. “He had thought to playe me a pagent: Il me cuyda donner le bont.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccxvii. (Table of Verbes). “A felowe which had renued many of Robin Hodes Pagentes.” Fabyan’s Chron. vol. ii. fol. 533. ed. 1559. “After he had plaied all his troublesome pageants,” &c. Holinshed’s Chron. (Hen. viii.) vol. iii. 830. ed. 1587.

v. 191. poynt] i. e. appoint, equip.

—— fresche] i. e. smart.

v. 192. he] i. e. Godfrey; see note on title of the second of these poems, p. 180.

v. 193. rowllys] i. e. rolls.

v. 194. sowllys] i. e. souls.

v. 197.

—fylythe, i. e. defileth. This proverb occurs in The Owl and the Nightingale (a poem of the 12th century), p. 4. Rox. ed.

v. 199. wyst what sum wotte] i. e. knew what some know.

Page 126. v. 204. Jake a thrum] In his Magnyfycence our author mentions “Jacke a thrommys bybyll,” v. 1444. vol. i. 272 (also in his Garlande of Laurell, v. 209. vol. i. 370); and in his Colyn Cloute he uses the expression,—

where the MS. has “Jacke athrum.”—Compare: “And therto acordes too worthi prechers, Jacke a Throme and Ione Brest-Bale.” Burlesques,—Reliquiæ Antiquæ (by Wright and Halliwell), i. 84.

goliardum] Equivalent, probably, to buffoon, or ridiculous rhymer. See Du Cange’s Gloss. in v., Tyrwhitt’s note on Chaucer’s Cant. Tales, v. 562, and Roquefort’s Gloss. in v. Goliard.

lusty Garnyshe well beseen Crystofer] See note on title of the third of these poems, p. 183.

Page 126. v. 1. gargone] i. e. Gorgon.

v. 3. Thowthe ye kan skylle of large and longe] i. e. Though you be skilled in large and long; see note, p. 95. v. 49.

v. 4.

—o lay, i. e. one strain. So Lydgate;

v. 12. Cicero with hys tong of golde] So Dunbar speaking of Homer and Tully;

v. 17. xalte] i. e. shalt.

—— warse] i. e. worse.

v. 18. They] i. e. Thy; as in the preceding poem.

Page 127. v. 23. lest good kan] i. e. that knows the least good.

v. 25. wylage] i. e. village.

v. 28. Lothsum as Lucifer] So in The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy (see note, p. 177. v. 4), “Luciferis laid.” Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 75. ed. Laing.

v. 29. gasy] i. e. gaze, look proudly.

v. 30. Syr Pers de Brasy] i. e. Pierre de Brézé, grand-seneschal of Anjou, Poitou, and Normandy, and a distinguished warrior during the reigns of Charles vii. and Lewis xi.: he fell at the battle of Montlhéry in 1465.

v. 31. caytyvys carkes] i. e. caitiff’s carcass.

v. 32. blasy] i. e. blaze, set forth.

v. 33. Gorge Hardyson] Perhaps the “George Ardeson” who is several times mentioned in the unpublished Bokis of Kyngis Paymentis Temp. Hen. vii. and viii., preserved in the Chapter-House, Westminster: one entry concerning him is as follows;

“[xxiii. of Hen. vii.]

George Ardeson and Domynicke Sall er bounden in an obligacion to pay for the lycence of cccl buttes of malvesey viˢ viiiᵈ for euery but within iii monethes next after they shalbe layde vpon lande

cxviˡⁱ xiiiˢ.”

Page 127. v. 34. habarion] i. e. habergeon. “Haburion. Lorica.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 35. the Januay] i. e. the Genoese. “The ianuays ... Genuenses.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. k iii. ed. 1530.

v. 36. trysyd hys trowle away] i. e. (I suppose) enticed away his trull.

v. 37. paiantes] See note, p. 189. v. 190.

v. 39. gate] i. e. got.

—— gaudry] i. e., perhaps, trickery. In the Towneley Mysteries, gawde, trick, occurs several times.

v. 41. Fanchyrche strete] i. e. Fenchurch Street.

v. 42. lemmanns] i. e. mistresses.

v. 43. Bas] i. e. Kiss.

—— buttyng] A term of endearment, which I do not understand.

—— praty] i. e. pretty.

v. 47. Bowgy row] i. e. Budge Row: “This Ward [Cordwainers Street Ward] beginneth in the East, on the West side of Walbrooke, and runneth West, thorow Budge row (a street so called of the Budge Furr, and of Skinners dwelling there),” &c. Stow’s Survey, B. iii. 15. ed. 1720.

v. 50. mow] i. e. mouth,—mock.

Page 128. v. 54. lust] i. e. liking, inclination.

v. 55. broke] i. e. badger.

v. 56. Gup, Syr Gy] See notes, p. 99. v. 17. p. 184. v. 70.

v. 57. xulde] i. e. should.

v. 59. herey] i. e. hairy.

v. 60. on Goddes halfe] See note, p. 174. v. 501.

v. 61. pray] i. e. prey.

v. 63. auncetry] i. e. ancestry.

v. 66. askry] See notes, p. 145. v. 903. p. 152. v. 1358.

v. 68. Haroldis] i. e. Heralds.

v. 69. Thow] i. e. Though.

v. 73. brothells] i. e. harlots. “Brothell pailliarde putayn.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xxii. (Table of Subst.).

Page 128. v. 75. Betweyn the tappett and the walle] A line which occurs again in our author’s Magnyfycence, v. 1249. vol. i. 265: tappett, i. e. tapestry, hangings.

v. 76. Fusty bawdyas] An expression used again by Skelton in his Garlande of Laurell;

It occurs in the metrical tale The Kyng and the Hermyt;

and several times after, in the same poem.

v. 77. harres] Equivalent to—collection. Fr. haras, a stud. “Haras of horse. Equicium.” Prompt. Parv.,—MS. Harl. 221.

v. 78. clothe of Arres] i. e. tapestry; so called from Arras in Artois, where the chief manufacture of such hangings was.

v. 79. eylythe] i. e. aileth.

—— rebawde] i. e. ribald.

v. 82. Auaunsid] i. e. Advanced.

v. 83. hole] i. e. whole.

v. 85. lorell] See note, p. 183. v. 14.

—— to lewde] i. e. too ignorant, vile.

v. 86. Lythe and lystyn] i. e. Attend and listen—a sort of pleonastic expression common in our earliest poetry.

—— all bechrewde] See note, p. 97. v. 28.

Page 129. v. 88. pointyd] i. e. appointed.

v. 89. semyth] i. e. beseemeth.

—— pyllyd pate] See note, p. 184. v. 68.

v. 91. scryue] i. e. write.

v. 92. cumys] i. e. becomes.

v. 93. tumrelle] i. e. tumbrel.

v. 94. melle] i. e. meddle.

v. 95. The honor of Englande] i. e. Henry the Eighth.

v. 97. wyl] i. e. well; as afterwards in this poem.

—— parcele] i. e. part, portion.

v. 98. yaue] i. e. gave.

v. 99. Eliconys] i. e. Helicon’s.

v. 101. commyth] i. e. becometh.

Page 129. v. 101. remorde] Fr. “Remordre. To bite again; also, to carpe at, or find fault with.” Cotgrave’s Dict. The word is frequently used by Skelton (see, for instance, vol. i. 188, where he introduces it with other terms nearly synonymous,—“reprehending” and “rebukynge”).

v. 102. creaunser] i. e. tutor: see Account of Skelton and his Writings.—Erasmus, in his Paraph. in Epist. Pauli ad Galat. cap. 4. v. 2,—Opp. vii. 956. ed. 1703-6, has these words; “sed metu cohibetur, sed alieno arbitrio ducitur, sub tutoribus et actoribus agens,” &c.: which are thus rendered in The Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testament, vol. ii. fol. xiii. ed. 1548-9; “but is kept vnder with feare, and ruled as other men wyll, passyng that tyme vnder creansers and gouernours,” &c. (Fr. creanser.)

v. 105. primordialle] i. e. original, earliest.

v. 106. rybawde] i. e. ribald.

—— reclame] i. e. tame,—a metaphor from falconry; see note, p. 148. v. 1125.

v. 111. warlde] i. e. world.

v. 114. bawdy] i. e. foul; see note, p. 161. v. 90.

Page 130. v. 117. Thow] i. e. Though.

—— pyllyd] See note, p. 184. v. 68.

—— sade] i. e. sad,—sober, discreet,—wise (see the preceding line).

v. 120. Thowth] i. e. Though.

v. 122. throw] i. e. little while, moment.

v. 125. thé froo] i. e. from thee.

v. 127. lewde] i. e. ignorant.

—— shrow] i. e. curse.

v. 132. Prickyd] i. e. Pointed.

v. 133.

—manys, i. e. man’s: bake, i. e. back: Wher, i. e. Were. Compare our author’s poem against Dundas, v. 37. vol. i. 194, and Bale’s Kynge Iohan, p. 35. Camden ed.

v. 135. wyll] i. e. well; as before in this poem.

v. 136. ouyrthwarthe] i. e. overthwart,—cross, perverse, cavillous, captious.

v. 144. steuyn] i. e. voice.

v. 145. follest] i. e. foulest.

v. 146. lyddyr] Or lither,—is—sluggish, slothful, idle; but the word is often used in the more general meaning of wicked, evil, depraved.

Page 130. v. 146. lewde] i. e. ignorant.

v. 147. well thewde] i. e. well dispositioned, well mannered.

Page 131. v. 148. Besy] i. e. Busy.

v. 149. Syr Wrig wrag] A term several times used by Skelton; see note, p. 189. v. 186.

v. 151. slyght] i. e. trick, contrivance.

v. 153. to mykkylle] i. e. too much.

v. 154. I xulde but lese] i. e. I should but lose.

v. 155. tragydese] i. e. tragedies. Skelton does not mean here dramatic pieces: compare his piece Against the Scottes, v. 72. vol. i. 184. So Lydgate’s celebrated poem, The Tragedies, gathered by Iohn Bochas, of all such Princes as fell from theyr estates, &c.

v. 157. my proces for to saue]—proces, i. e. story; see notes, p. 143. v. 735. p. 146. v. 969. So our author in his Why come ye nat to Courte;

v. 158. xall] i. e. shall.

v. 162. a tyd] i. e. betime.

v. 164. Haruy Haftar] See note, p. 107. v. 138.

v. 166. xulde] i. e. should.

v. 170. hay ... ray] Names of dances, the latter less frequently mentioned than the former:

v. 171. fonde] i. e. foolish.

v. 173. lewdenes] i. e. ignorance, baseness, worthlessness.

v. 176. spynt] i. e. spent, employed.

v. 180. I xall thé aquyte] i. e. I shall requite thee.

Page 132. Psalm cxlij.] Vulg. cxix. 3.

Psal. lxvii.] Vulg. li. 7.

v. 4. Hoyning] “Hoigner. To grumble, mutter, murmure; to repine; also, to whyne as a child or dog.” Cotgrave’s Dict. “Hoi, a word vsed in driuing hogges,” says Minsheu; who proceeds to derive it “a Gr. κοΐ, quod est imitatio vocis porcellorum.” Guide into Tongues.

—— groynis] See note, p. 180. v. 2.

—— wrotes] i. e. roots.

Page 132. v. 2. made ... a windmil of an olde mat] The same expression occurs again in our author’s Magnyfycence, v. 1040. vol. i. 258.

v. 4. commaunde] i. e. commend.

—— Cok wat] See note, p. 108. v. 173.

Page 133. v. 2. lack] i. e. fault, blame.

v. 3. In your crosse rowe nor Christ crosse you spede]—crosse rowe, i. e. alphabet; so called, it is commonly said, because a cross was prefixed to it, or perhaps because it was written in the form of a cross. See Nares’s Gloss. in v. Christ-cross. Christ crosse you spede alludes to some other elementary form of instruction:

and see title of a poem cited p. 167. v. 296.

v. 7. cognisaunce] i. e. badge.

v. 1. scole] i. e. school, teaching.

—— haute] i. e. high, lofty.

v. 2. faute] i. e. fault.

v. 2. faitours] Has been explained before (see p. 91. v. 172)—deceivers, dissemblers; and is rendered by Tyrwhitt (Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales), lazy, idle fellows; but here the word seems to be used as a general term of reproach,—scoundrels.

—— half straught] i. e. half in their senses.

v. 4. liddrous] See note, p. 193. v. 146.

—— lewde] i. e. ignorant, vile.

v. 3. vale of bonet of their proude sayle]—vale, i. e. lower: bonet means a small sail attached to the larger sails.

v. 4. ill hayle] See note, p. 176. v. 617.

Page 134. v. 4. vntayde] i. e. untied, loose.

—— renning] i. e. running.

v. 7. lewdly alowed] i. e., perhaps, ignorantly approved of.

v. 9. vertibilite] i. e. variableness.

v. 10. folabilite] i. e. folly.

v. 12. coarte] i. e. coarct, constrain.

v. 13. hay the gy of thre] Perhaps an allusion to the dance called heydeguies (a word variously spelt).

v. 2. Pharaotis] i. e. (I suppose) Pharaoh.

v. 1. vnhappy] i. e. mischievous.

Page 135. v. 2. atame] i. e. tame.

v. 1. tratlers] i. e. prattlers, tattlers.

v. 3. Scalis Malis] i. e. Cadiz. “The tounes men of Caleis, or Caleis males, sodainly rong their common bell,” &c. Hall’s Chronicle (Hen. viii.), fol. xiii. ed. 1548. “His fortunatest piece I esteem the taking of Cadiz Malez.” A Parallel of the Earl of Essex and the Duke of Buckingham,—Reliquiæ Wottonianæ, p. 177. ed. 1672.

Page 135. v. 4. nut shalis] i. e. nutshells.

v. 7. ren] i. e. run.

—— lesinges] i. e. falsehoods.

v. 8. wrate suche a bil] i. e. wrote such a letter.

v. 10. ill apayed] i. e. ill pleased, ill satisfied.

v. 1. hight] i. e. is called.

v. 2. quight] i. e. requite.

v. 5. Although he made it neuer so tough] The expression, to make it tough, i. e. to make difficulties, occurs frequently, and with several shades of meaning, in our early writers; see R. of Gloucester’s Chronicle, p. 510. ed. Hearne, and the various passages cited in Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales in v. Tough. Palsgrave has “I Make it tough I make it coye as maydens do or persons that be strange if they be asked a questyon.” Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccxcii. (Table of Verbes).

Page 137. v. 5. hym lyst] i. e. pleases him.

v. 6. couenable] i. e. fit.

v. 10. sad] i. e. serious.

v. 17. trauell] i. e. travail, labour.

v. 21. prease] i. e. press, throng.

Page 138. v. 23. lacke] i. e. blame.

v. 24. rotys] i. e. roots.

—— vere] i. e. spring.

Quod] i. e. Quoth.

Page 139. v. 7. Agayne] i. e. Against.

v. 8. woundis fyue] A common expression in our early poetry;

See too Dunbar’s Poems, i. 229. ed. Laing.

Page 140. v. 10. blo] i. e. livid; see note, p. 103. v. 3.

Is mentioned by our author as one of his compositions in the Garlande of Laurell, v. 1418. vol. i. 417.

With the opening of this piece compare Hawes’s Conuercyon of Swerers, where Christ is made to exclaim,

and a little after,

Barclay too has,

Woffully araid is, I believe, equivalent to—wofully disposed of or treated, in a woful condition. “Araye condicion or case poynt.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xviii. (Table of Subst.)—(and see note, p. 164. v. 163).

—“His [Tybert’s] body was al to beten, and blynde on the one eye. Whan the kynge wyste this, that tybert was thus arayed, he was sore angry, &c.” Reynard the Fox, sig. b 8. ed. 1481. Again in the same romance, when Isegrym the wolf has received a kick on the head from a mare, he says to Reynard, “I am so foule arayed and sore hurte, that an herte of stone myght haue pyte of me.” Sig. f 4.

“I am fowle arayed with a chyne cowgh. Laceor pertussi.”—“He was sore arayed with sycknesse. Morbo atrociter conflictus est.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sigs. II iii. I ii. ed. 1530.

Page 141. v. 4. naid] i. e. denied.

v. 5. bloo] i. e. livid; see note, p. 103. v. 3.

v. 8. encheson] i. e. cause.

v. 9. Sith] i. e. Since.

v. 12. fretid] Equivalent to—galled.

v. 14. mowid] i. e. made mouths at, mocked.

v. 19. hart rote] i. e. heart-root.

Page 141. v. 20. panys] i. e. pains.

—— vaynys] i. e. veins.

—— crake] i. e. crack.

Page 142. v. 24.

Entretid, i. e. Treated. So in a “litel dite” by Lydgate, appended to his Testamentum;

v. 29. bobbid] i. e. struck. So Lydgate in the piece just cited;

and in the Coventry Mysteries, Nichodemus seeing Christ on the cross, says

—— robbid] i. e. (I suppose) robed.

v. 30. Onfayned] Generally means un-glad, displeased, which even in the forced sense of—to my sorrow, is against the intention of the passage: it seems to be used here for—Unfeignedly: and see note, p. 207. v. 81.

—— deynyd] i. e. disdained;

v. 33. myȝt] i. e. might.

v. 39. enterly] i. e. entirely.

v. 43. ȝytt] i. e. yet.

v. 45. race] i. e. tear, wound.

v. 48. Butt gyve me thyne hert]—hert, i. e. heart. With this and v. 41 compare Lydgate’s “litel dite” already cited;

Page 143. v. 49. wrouȝt] i. e. wrought, formed.

—— bowgȝt] i. e. bought, redeemed.

v. 50. hyȝt] i. e. high.

v. 55. sawlys] i. e. soul’s.

v. 59. Hytt] i. e. It.

—— nayd] i. e. denied.

v. 60. blow] i. e. livid; see note, p. 103. v. 3.

This piece is mentioned by Skelton as his own composition in the Garlands of Laurell, v. 1420. vol. i. 417.

Page 144. v. 1.

Compare Lydgate;

The hymn Vexilla regis prodeunt, &c. may be seen in Hymni Ecclesiæ e Breviario Parisiensi, 1838, p. 71. I ought to add that the present poem is not a translation of it.

v. 3. onfelde is [s]playd] i. e. is displayed on field.

v. 4. nayd] i. e. denied.

v. 11. thees] i. e. thighs.

v. 13. pyne] i. e. pain.

v. 14. spylt] i. e. destroyed, put to death.

v. 17. dong] i. e. dung, struck.

Page 145. v. 25. fote] i. e. foot.

v. 31. Syth] i. e. Since.

v. 33. chere] i. e. spirit,—or reception.

v. 35. lykes] i. e. pleases.

v. 40. eysell] i. e. vinegar.

v. 51. doone] i. e. done.

Page 146. v. 60. isprode] i. e. spread.

v. 68. payne] i. e. labour, strive.

v. 71. mys] i. e. miss, fail.

v. 72. Withouten nay] i. e. Without contradiction, assuredly.

v. 74. hardnes] i. e. cruelty.

Page 147. v. 7. gentis Agarenæ] i. e. of the race of Hagar.

In giving this poem a place among our author’s undoubted productions, I now apprehend that I deferred too much to the judgment of my friend Mr. J. P. Collier, who had recently reprinted it without suspecting its genuineness. It may, after all, be Skelton’s; but at any rate it is only a rifacimento of the following verses,—found in MS. Sloane, 747. fol. 88, and very difficult to decipher:

Page 148. v. 9. gardes] i. e. facings, trimmings.

v. 10. Jagged] See note, p. 163. v. 124: but here probably (as certainly in v. 54) something ornamental is meant.

—— al to-torne] See note, p. 100. v. 32.

v. 15. hostryes] i. e. inns.

v. 17. warkes] i. e. works.

v. 22. preves] i. e. proves; equivalent, perhaps, to—turn out well.

Page 149. v. 25. garded hose] i. e. faced, trimmed breeches.

v. 26. cornede] i. e. horned, pointed.

v. 29. questes] i. e. inquests.

v. 31. quitte] i. e. acquitted.

v. 50. crakers] i. e. vaunters, big talkers.

v. 54. cultyng and jagging] See note above, v. 10: cultyng, I believe, should be cuttyng.

Page 150. v. 57. knackes] i. e. trifles, toys, or perhaps tricks.

v. 58. naughty packes] An expression which occurs again in our author’s Garlande of Laurell, v. 188. vol. i. 369, is common in writers of a much later date, and is not yet altogether obsolete (see The Dialect of Craven, &c. in Noughty-Pack),—equivalent to worthless, loose persons (properly, it would seem, cheaters; see Richardson’s Dict. in v. Pack).

Page 151. v. 90. kepe tuche] i. e. keep contract, agreement.

v. 93. pore] i. e. poor.

v. 94. bordoure] i. e. border.

v. 101. bowyers] i. e. bow-makers.

v. 102. fletchers] i. e. arrow-makers.

v. 105. chepers] i. e. traffickers, sellers (compare the fourth stanza on the opposite page).

v. 109. alle sellers] i. e. ale-sellers.

v. 110. baudy] i. e. foul; see note, p. 161. v. 90.

—— sellers] i. e. cellars.

v. 113. pinkers] Some cant term which I do not understand.

Page 152. v. 121. vacabounde] i. e. vagabond.

v. 122. londe] i. e. land.

v. 123. bonde] i. e. bound.

v. 129. fleyng] i. e. flying.

v. 130. males] i. e. bags, wallets, pouches.

Page 152. v. 138. covetous] i. e. covetise, covetousness.

v. 141. carders] i. e. card-players.

v. 143. yl ticers] i. e. evil-enticers.

v. 145. lollers] “Apostaticus ... anglice a renegade or loller.” Ortus Vocab. ed. 1514. “Lollar heretique.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlv. (Table of Subst.). So at the conclusion of The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy, the term Lollard is used to signify a heretic: see Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 445 (note), ed. Laing. Compare too our author’s Replycacion, &c. v. 204. vol. i. 215.

v. 146. tollers] i. e. tellers, speakers.

v. 147. pollers] i. e. plunderers.

Page 153. v. 153. So many avayles] An expression which I do not understand: the poem just given from MS. Sloane has “So lytle avayles;” see p. 201, last stanza but two.

v. 154. geales] i. e. gaols.

v. 161. jackes] i. e. jackets.

v. 163. partlettes] i. e. ruffs.

v. 166. tucking hookes] Another expression which I do not understand.

v. 169. song] i. e. sung.

v. 178. brybors] i. e. thieves,—properly, pilferers. “Briboure. Manticulus.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499; and see note on our author’s Magnyfycence, v. 1242.

v. 182. everichone] i. e. every one.

Page 154. v. 186. convenient] i. e. fitting, suitable.

This poem was evidently called forth by a real event; but the name of the “hawking parson” has not transpired. According to Barclay, skill in hawking sometimes advanced its possessor to a benefice;

I may add, that afterwards, in the same work, when treating of indecorous behaviour at church, Barclay observes;

Page 155. v. 5. abused] i. e. vitiated, depraved.

v. 8. daw] i. e. simpleton, fool; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 16. him fro] i. e. from him.

Page 156. v. 22. dysgysed] i. e. guilty of unbecoming conduct: so again in our author’s Colyn Cloute;

v. 30. apostrofacion] i. e. apostrophe.

v. 34. wrate] i. e. wrote.

v. 35. lewde] i. e. ignorant, worthless.

v. 42. Dis] Of which Skelton was rector; see Account of his Life and Writings.

v. 43. fonde] i. e. foolish.

—— fauconer] i. e. falconer.

v. 44. pawtenar] “Pautner [Pawtenere, MS. Harl. 221.]. Cassidile.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “Will. Brito: Cassidile dicitur pera Aucupis in modum reticuli facta, in quo ponit quos in casse, id est, rete, cepit.” Du Cange’s Gloss. in v. “Pera ... anglice a skryppe or a pawtner.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d.

v. 48. hogeous] i. e. hugeous, huge.

v. 49. auter] i. e. altar.

v. 50. craked] i. e. talked vauntingly.

Page 157. v. 55. yede] i. e. went.

v. 56. pray] i. e. prey.

v. 60. tyrid] A term in falconry: the hawk tired on what was thrown to her, when she pulled at and tore it.

v. 62. mutid] i. e. dunged.

—— a chase] Compare a passage in that curious tract, by Walter Smith, xii Mery Jests of the wyddow Edyth;

in consequence of which, she is compelled suddenly to quit the supper-table, and,

“A chase at tennis is that spot where a ball falls, beyond which the adversary must strike his ball to gain a point or chace. At long tennis, it is the spot where the ball leaves off rolling.” Douce’s Illust. of Shakespeare, i. 485. Compare our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 880. vol. ii. 53.

Page 157. v. 63. corporas] i. e. communion-cloth, the fine linen cloth used to cover the body, or consecrated elements.

v. 65. gambawdis] i. e. gambols, pranks.

v. 66. wexid] i. e. waxed.

—— gery] “Gerysshe, wylde or lyght heeded farouche.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxxxviii. (Table of Adiect.).

Tyrwhitt explains “gery—changeable.” Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales. Richardson observes that in the present passage of Skelton “it seems to be giddy (sc.) with turning round.” Dict. in v.

v. 69. the rode loft] A loft (generally placed just over the passage out of the church into the chancel,) where stood the rood,—an image of Christ on the cross, with figures of the Virgin Mary and Saint John on each side of it: compare v. 126 of the present poem;

v. 70. perkyd] i. e. perched.

v. 71. fauconer] i. e. falconer.

—— prest] i. e. ready.

v. 72. dow] i. e. pigeon.

v. 73. And cryed, Stow, stow, stow!] So Fansy, in our author’s Magnyfycence, exclaims to his hawk,

Compare Brathwait’s Merlin;

“Make them come from it to your fist, eyther much or little, with calling and chirping to them, saying: Towe, Towe, or Stowe, Stowe, as Falconers vse.” Turbervile’s Booke of Falconrie, &c. p. 182. ed. 1611.

Page 157. v. 76. lure] See note, p. 147. v. 1100.

v. 78. endude] “She [the hawk] Enduyth whan her meete in her bowelles falle to dygestyon.” Book of St. Albans, by Juliana Barnes, sig. C iii.

v. 79. ensaymed] i. e. purged from her grease. “Ensayme of an hawke,” says the lady just quoted, “is the greeys.” Sig. A v. See too “How you shall enseame a Hawke,” &c. in Turbervile’s Booke of Falconrie, &c. p. 115. ed. 1611.

v. 80. reclaymed] i. e. tamed; see note, p. 148. v. 1125.

v. 81. fawconer] i. e. falconer.

—— vnfayned] Either, unfeignedly (in the next line but six is “not fayne nor forge”) or un-glad, displeased: see note, p. 198. v. 30.

Page 158. v. 83. lyst] i. e. liking, inclination.

v. 85. loked] i. e. looked.

—— the frounce] Is a distemper in which a whitish foam gathers in wrinkles (frounces) about the hawk’s mouth and palate. “The Frounce proceedeth of moist and cold humours, which descend from the hawkes head to their palate and the roote of the tongue. And of that cold is engendred in the tongue the Frownce,” &c. Turbervile’s Booke of Falconrie, &c. p. 303. ed. 1611.

v. 87. the gorge] “Is that part of the Hawk which first receiveth the meat, and is called the Craw or Crop in other fowls.” Latham’s Faulconry, (Explan. of Words of Art), 1658.

v. 89. clap] i. e. stroke.

v. 91. sparred] i. e. fastened, shut (“boltyd and barryd” being in the next line).

v. 93. wyth a prety gyn]—gyn, i. e. contrivance.

v. 100. On Sainct John decollacion] i. e. On the festival of the beheading of St. John.

Page 158. v. 103. secundum Sarum] So in Sir D. Lyndsay’s Complaynt of the Papingo;

The proverbial expression, “It is done secundum usum Sarum,” is thus explained by Fuller: “It began on this occasion; Many Offices or forms of service were used in severall Churches in England, as the Office of York, Hereford, Bangor, &c. which caused a deal of Confusion in Gods Worship, untill Osmond Bishop of Sarum, about the year of our Lord 1090, made that Ordinall or Office which was generally received all over England, so that Churches thence forward easily understood one another, all speaking the same words in their Liturgy. It is now applyed to those persons which do, and Actions which are formally and solemnly done, in so Regular a way by Authentick Precedents, and Paterns of unquestionable Authority, that no just exception can be taken thereat.” Worthies (Wilt-Shire), p. 146. ed. 1662.

v. 104. Marche harum] i. e. March hare.

v. 106. let] i. e. leave, desist.

v. 107. fet] i. e. fetch.

v. 110. to halow there the fox]—halow, i. e. halloo. “Men blewe the hornes and cryed and halowed the foxe.” Reynard the Fox, sig. h 5. ed. 1481.

v. 112. Boke] i. e. Book.

Page 159. v. 114. lectryne] “Lecterne to syng at.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xliiii. (Table of Subst.).

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

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

v. 117. hankin bouy] Compare Thersytes, n. d.;

and Nash’s Haue with you to Saffron-walden, 1596; “No vulgar respects haue I, what Hoppenny Hoe and his fellow Hankin Booby thinke of mee.” Sig. K 2: and Brome’s Joviall Crew, 1652; “he makes us even sick of his sadness, that were wont to see my Ghossips cock to day, mould Cocklebread, daunce clutterdepouch and Hannykin 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] “Gospellar that syngeth the gospell.” “Pysteller [Epistler] that syngeth the masse.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fols. xxxvii., liiii. (Table of Subst.). But in our author’s Phyllyp Sparowe we find,

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

v. 125. gydynge] “He controlled my lyuynge and gydynge.... mores.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. N vi. ed. 1530.

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 as lorels, which has several times occurred before (see note, p. 132. v. 488, &c.): “Lorell or losell or lurdeyn.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “Lorrell or losell.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. 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 in Pierce Plowman; where we find,

and again, “Saue mede the mayde,” &c. sig. C iii. “Now is mede the mayde,” &c. ibid.

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

v. 159. this] Perhaps for thus: compare v. 181.

v. 164. Exodi] i. e. the book of Exodus.

Page 160. v. 166. Regum] i. e. The Third, now called The 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 from The 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 also The Legend of Seynt Mergrete, printed from the Auchinleck MS., in Turnbull’s Legendæ Catholicæ. Most readers will recollect Mr. Milman’s dramatic poem, The Martyr of Antioch.

v. 198.

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;

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

and in the Second Part of Marlowe’s Tamburlaine;

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

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

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,—and died after reigning a year. See Prideaux’s Connect. Part ii. B. vi.

Page 162. v. 214. miscreantys] i. e. infidels. “These thre kynges were the fyrst of myscreauntes that 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 or ouerthwarte in a matter, to wrangle.” Baret’s Alvearie in 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’s Magnyfycence, Courtly Abusyon terms Cloked Colusyon “cankard Jacke Hare.” v. 768. vol. i. 250. There is a poem by Lydgate (at least attributed to him) concerning a personage called Jak Hare, of which the first stanza is as follows:

Since the above note was written, the ballad on Jack Hare has been edited from MS. Lansd. 699. fol. 88. by Mr. Halliwell, among Lydgate’s Minor Poems, p. 52 (printed for the Percy 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] “Nestoriani quidam heretici qui beatam mariam non dei, sed hominis dicunt genitricem.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d.: but here Nestorianus seems 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] To deprave generally means—to vilify in words (as in our author’s Colyn Cloute, “The Churche to depraue,” v. 515. vol. i. 330); but (and see the poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. v. 191. vol. ii. 73) here deprauyd must be equivalent to—defiled.

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

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

Page 166. v. 313.

Occurs again in our author’s Garlande 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:

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.

To readers of Skelton’s days Cacus was known not so much from the 8th book of Virgil’s Æneid, as from The 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: see Account of his Life and Writings.

Page 174.

The Rev. J. Mitford proposes to read—

understanding duo quintum to 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’s Hist. of Norfolk, ii. 131. ed. fol.

Page 175.

“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.].” Erasmi Adagia, p. 1663. ed. 1606.

Page 178. Henry the Seventh died April 21st, 1509, in the 24th year of his reign (see Sir H. Nicolas’s Chron. 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.

But the above lines are not in Marshe’s ed. of Skelton’s Workes; nor are they assigned to him in Reges, 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 ac domini, domini Johannis Islippæ abbatis Westmonasteriensis] So Skelton again in his Replycacion, &c. “ad cujus auspicatissimam contemplationem, sub memorabili prelo gloriosæ immortalitatis, præsens pagella felicitatur, &c.” vol. i. 206; and in his Garlande of Laurell,—

Compare also Hollinshed; “At the contemplation of 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, see Account of Skelton and his Writings.

Page 179. v. 19. sua] Used for ejus.

—— 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 poem Against 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 in alto-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’s Account 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 of Marmion, 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 passage resembles a rhyme made in reproach of the Scots in the reign of Edward the First:

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 “Stowre of conversation estourdy.” 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’s Anc. 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 his Boke of knowlege introduces a Scotchman saying,

Compare our author’s Magnyfycence;

and his Garlande of Laurell;

In Hormanni Vulgaria we find, “He faceth the matter, and maketh great crakes. Tragice loquitur, et ampullosa verba proiicit.” Sig. P iiii. ed. 1530. “He is not aferde to face or brace with any man of worshyp. Nullius viri magnitudinem allatrare dubitat.” Sig. O ii. And in Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530, “I face as 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 he faceth and braceth me so: ... il contrefait tellement des mines.” fol. ccxxx. (Table of Verbes). “I Brace or face, Ie braggue. He braced and made a bracyng here 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’s Chron. (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 the Coliphizacio, where Cayphas exclaims—

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 in Speke, Parrot;

Perhaps there is an allusion to some song or ballad: Lowdean is, 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;

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

and in his verses against Dundas, he calls him

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’s Chronicle, p. 333. ed. Hearne; Minot’s Poems, p. 6. ed. Ritson; and Barbour’s Bruce, 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:

—keteringes (see Jamieson’s Et. 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, Jocky is the diminutive of Jock, the abbreviation of John: jo is 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 his Speke, Parrot;

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

“William Johnstone of Wamphray, called the Galliard, was a noted freebooter.... His nom de guerre seems to have been derived from the dance called The Galliard. The word is still used in Scotland to express an active, gay, dissipated character.” Scott’s Minst. of the Scott. Bord. i. 305. ed. 1810. To skir (under which Richardson in his Dict. cites Skelton’s term “a skyrgaliarde”) is to scour, to move rapidly.

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

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

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

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 poem Howe 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] Shower is often applied by our old writers to the storm, assault, encounter of battle:

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

Page 186. v. 135.

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 bear on 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’s Peerage, i. 77. ed. Brydges.

“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; in Sir 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;

and in his Why come ye not to Courte;

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

Here again Skelton uses a Scottish name at random. The Huntly-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.

—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 yf the example of the kyng of Nauarre beynge 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’s Chron. (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.” Lelandi Collect. 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 his fatal expedition against England “he had sewin great cannones out of the castle of Edinburgh, quhilkis was called the Sewin 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 named Sisters because 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:

Page 187. v. 169. The Popes curse gaue you that clap]—clap, i. e. stroke. James died under a recent sentence of excommunication for infringing the pacification with England.

v. 170. Of the out yles the roughe foted Scottes] i. e. the rough-footed Scots of the Hebrides: the epithet rough-footed was given to them, because they wore, during the frost, a rude sort of shoe, made of undressed deer-skin, with the hairy side outwards; see MS. quoted in Pinkerton’s Hist. of Scotland, ii. 397.

v. 171. the bottes] i. e. the worms.

v. 172. dronken dranes]—dranes, i. e. drones. The Editor of Skelton’s Workes, 1736, printed “dronken Danes;” and Weber (Flodden Field, p. 276) proposes the same alteration; but though the Danes (as the readers of our early dramatists know) were notorious for deep potations, the text is right. Our author has again, in his poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c.;

“Drane. Fucus.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. And compare Pierce Plowman’s Crede;

v. 175. sumner] See note on v. 51. p. 217.

Page 188. v. 177. to] i. e. too.

Quod] i. e. Quoth.

per desertum Sin] “Profectique sunt de Elim, et venit omnis multitudo filiorum Israel in desertum Sin, quod est inter Elim et Sinai,” &c. Exod. xvi. l. (Vulgate).

Page 188. remord] See note, p. 193. v. 101.

v. 7. makynge] i. e. composing, composition.

v. 8. Their males therat shakynge]—males, i. e. bags, wallets: compare our author’s Colyn Cloute;

v. 14. brother] See note, p. 219. v. 106.

Page 189. v. 21. pyketh mood] i. e. grows angry, picks a quarrel.

v. 26. recrayed] i. e. recreant, false (the idea of cowardice is certainly not implied here).

v. 30. died excomunycate] See note, p. 222. v. 169.

v. 37. ouerthwartes] i. e. cross, perverse objections, cavils.

Dis] Of which Skelton was rector; see Account of his Life and Writings.

Page 190. vv. 17, 18. Leo Candidus ... Leo tu Rubeus] See note, p. 220. v. 135.

These verses (placed immediately after the poems on the Battle of Flodden, in the eds.) relate to an event which happened about the same period. Henry viii. having in person invaded France, in conjunction with the Emperor Maximilian, they proceeded to the siege of Terouenne. An attempt on the part of Louis to relieve the town occasioned the Battle of the Spurs, August 16, 1513, in which the Duke of Longueville, Clermont, &c. were made prisoners. Terouenne surrendered to Henry on the 22d of that month, and its defences were razed to the ground on the 27th. In these dates I follow Lingard.

Page 191. v. 13. Gloria Cappadocis, divæ milesque Mariæ] i. e. St. George, whom our author has before termed “our Ladies knyght,” see note, p. 220. v. 141. During this war, the Emperor, to flatter Henry’s vanity, wore his badge of the red rose, assumed the cross of St. George, and accepted a hundred crowns daily as the soldier of the English king.

“Georgius Dundas, Græce Latineque doctissimus habitus, Equitum Hierosolymitanorum intra Regnum Scotiæ præfectus, sed prius Aberdoniæ Professor. Scripsit diligenter, et laboriose. Historiam Equitum Hierosolymitanorum, lib. ii. Claruit anno MDXX.” Dempsteri Hist. Eccles. Gentis Scotorum, &c. 1627, p. 234. This George Dundas was, I apprehend, the person who excited the wrath of Skelton.

Page 192. v. 1.

These three hexameters are, it would seem, the composition of Dundas.

“After this saynt austyn entryd in to dorsetshyre, and came in to a towne where as were wycked peple & refused his doctryne and prechyng vtterly & droof hym out of the towne castyng on hym the tayles of thornback or like fisshes, wherfore he besought almyghty god to shewe his jugement on them, and god sente to them a shameful token, for the chyldren that were borne after in that place had tayles as it is sayd, tyl they had repented them. It is sayd comynly that thys fyl at strode in kente, but blessyd be god at this day is no suche deformyte.” The lyf of saynt Austyn,—Golden Legende, fol. clxxiiii. ed. 1483. See too Nova Legenda Anglie (by Capgrave), 1516. fol. xxx.

“Anglos quosdam caudatos esse.

Svspicabar quod de Anglorum caudis traditur, nugatorium esse, nec hoc meminissem loco, nisi ipsi Anglicarum rerum conditores id serio traderent: nasci videlicet homines, instar brutorum animalium caudatos apud Strodum Angliæ vicum, ad ripam fluuii Meduciæ, qui Roffensem, siue Rocestrensem agrum alluit. Narrantque eius vici incolas, iumento quod D. Thomas Canthuariensis episcopus insideret, per ludibrium caudam amputasse, ob idque diuina vltione adnatas incolis eius loci caudas: vt in hos fatidici regis carmen torqueri possit: Percussit eos (inquit) in posteriora eorum, opprobrium sempiternum dedit illis. De huiusmodi caudis quidam in hunc modum lusit:

On the proverbial expression Kentish Long-Tailes, Fuller has the following remarks. “Let me premise, that those are much mistaken who first found this Proverb on a Miracle of Austin the Monk.... I say they are much mistaken, for the Scæne of this Lying Wonder was not laied in any Part of Kent, but pretended many miles off, nigh Cerne in Dorsetshire. To come closer to the sence of this Proverb, I conceive it first of outlandish extraction, and cast by forraigners as a note of disgrace on all the English, though it chanceth to stick only on the Kentish at this Day. For when there happened in Palestine a difference betwixt Robert brother of Saint Lewis King of France and our William Longspee Earle of Salisbury, heare how the French-man insulted over our nation:

That the English were nicked by this speech appears by the reply of the Earle of Salisbury following still the metaphor; The son of my father shall presse thither to day, whither you shall not dare to approach his horse taile. Some will have the English so called from wearing a pouch or poake, (a bag to carry their baggage in) behind their backs, whilest probably the proud Monsieurs had their Lacquies for that purpose. In proof whereof they produce ancient pictures of the English Drapery and Armory, wherein such conveyances doe appear. If so, it was neither sin nor shame for the common sort of people to carry their own necessaries, and it matters not much whether the pocket be made on either side, or wholly behinde. If any demand how this nick-name (cut off from the rest of England) continues still entaild on Kent? The best conjecture is, because that county lieth nearest to France, and the French are beheld as the first founders of this aspersion. But if any will have the Kentish so called from drawing and dragging boughs of trees behind them, which afterwards they advanced above their heads and so partly cozened partly threatned King William the Conqueror to continue their ancient customes, I say, if any will impute it to this original, I will not oppose.” Worthies (Kent, p. 63), ed. 1662. The preceding passage of Fuller, somewhat abridged, is copied by Ray into his Proverbs, p. 245. ed. 1768. For fanciful stories concerning the origin of Kentish long-tails, see also Cornv-copiæ, Pasquils Night-cap, 1612, (attributed to S. Rowlands), p. 42. sqq.; and the commencement of Robin Good-fellow, His mad Prankes and Merry Jests, 1628, (a tract which originally appeared at an earlier date).

Page 193. v. 1. Gup] See note, p. 99. v. 17.

v. 23. Agayn] i. e. Against.

v. 26. dur] i. e. door.

v. 28. Go shake thy dog, hey] In our author’s Magnyfycence, v. 306. vol. i. 235, is,—

and had the expression occurred only in these two passages of Skelton, I should have felt confident that in the present one “thy” was a misprint for “the,” and that both were to be explained—“Go shake thee, dog,” &c.; but again, in his poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. v. 159. vol. ii. 72, we find,

Page 194. v. 34. hose] i. e. breeches.

v. 37. A spectacle case, &c.] See note, p. 193. v. 133.

v. 40. A tolman to blot] A friend queries “tal man?” but tolman is, I believe, pen-man: compare our author’s third poem Against Garnesche;

also the commencement of the present piece,—

v. 41. rough foted] See note, p. 222. v. 170.

v. 43. depraue] i. e. vilify, defame.

v. 44. reame] i. e. realm.

v. 56. rankis] i. e., perhaps, wrangles.

v. 58. Huntley bankes] See note, p. 221. v. 149.

v. 60. Dunde, Dunbar] See note, p. 219. v. 121.

v. 63. to far] i. e. too far.

This illustrious and excellent lady, born in 1441, was Margaret, the only child of John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. Her first husband was Edmund, Earl of Richmond, who died in 1456, a little more than a year after their marriage, the sole issue of which was Henry, afterwards King Henry the Seventh. Her second husband was Sir Henry Stafford, second son of Humphrey, the great Duke of Buckingham. Her third husband was Thomas Lord Stanley, afterwards the first Earl of Derby of his name. Having survived him, as also her son King Henry, she died June 29, 1509, in her 69th year, and was buried in the magnificent chapel then lately erected in Westminster Abbey.

Page 195. v. 5. polyandro] Polyandrum or polyandrium, (properly, multorum commune sepulchrum—πολυάνδριον)—“Interdum et sæpius apud ævi inferioris scriptores sumitur pro monumento aut sepulcro unius hominis.” Du Cange’s Gloss.—Here it means, of course, the tomb of Henry vii.—Whiting has anglicised the word in a poem appended to his Albino and Bellama, 1638;

v. 7. Titus hanc, &c.] i. e. Livy, who gives an account of Tanaquil, wife of Tarquinius Priscus: see his Hist. i. 34, &c.—“Tanaquilem Sidonius Apollinaris et Ausonius pro egregia uxore.” Cassellii Var. lib. i. c. xiii. p. 210 (Gruteri Lampas, iii.).

v. 19. Abyron] i. e. Abiram: see Numbers, ch. xvi.

Page 196. v. 25. perituræ parcere chartæ] Juvenal, Sat. i. 18.

—— phagolœdoros] i. e. (φαγολοιδόρους) convicia et maledicta devorantes.

were, i. e. wear: concerning this dress, worn, it would seem, by Skelton as Laureat, see Account of his Life and Writings.

Page 197. v. 16. somdele sere] i. e. somewhat dry, withered.

v. 17. fayne] i. e. glad, willing.

This piece is a paraphrase of three portions of Brant’s Ship of Fools: see the Latin version by Locher, Stultifera Nauis, ed. 1497,—Vxorem ducere propter opes, fol. lx., De livore et inuidia, fol. lxi., and De voluptate corporali, fol. lviii.: the same sections will be found accompanying Barclay’s Ship of Fooles, ed. 1570,—fol. 95, fol. 97, and fol. 92.

Page 199. v. 3. lygnage femynatyfe] i. e. lineage feminine.

v. 9. sythe] i. e. since.

Page 200. l. 1. boke] i. e. book.

l. 2. iyen] i. e. eyes.

—— loke] i. e. look.

l. 3. folysh] i. e. foolish.

l. 4. Pecunyous] i. e. Money-loving.

—— bee] i. e. by.

l. 5. wyddred] i. e. withered.

l. 6. nobles] i. e. the gold coins so called.

l. 8. habandoneth] i. e. abandoneth.

Page 200. l. 9. for to gather togyther the donge ... grese] In the Latin of Locher;

l. 18. thoughte] See note, p. 101. v. 10.

l. 20. debylyte] i. e. debilitated.

l. 21. vnpropyce] i. e. unpropitious.

l. 23. esperaunce] i. e. hope, expectation.

—— lygnage] i. e. lineage.

l. 25. demoraunce] i. e. abiding.

l. 26. leseth] i. e. loseth.

l. 29. hert] i. e. heart.

l. 32. cure] i. e. care.

Page 201. l. 15. conninge] i. e. knowledge, learning, attainments.

l. 20. whereas] i. e. where.

l. 22. pore] i. e. poor.

l. 23. corrompeth] i. e. corrupteth,—destroyeth.

l. 30. defende] i. e. forbid.

Page 202. l. 3. condycions] See note, p. 183. v. 12.

l. 4. dyssypers] i. e., I suppose, disperser.

l. 5. brennest] i. e. inflamest.

l. 6. sleeth] i. e. slayeth, (slayest).

l. 7. traueyleth] i. e. causeth travail (trouble) to.

l. 15. reclaymeth] i. e. proclaimeth.

l. 16. courage] i. e. heart, mind, disposition.

l. 17. adnychell] i. e. annihilate.

l. 22. flambe] i. e. flame.

l. 24. where as] i. e. where.

l. 25. odyfferaunt] i. e. odoriferous.

l. 27. tho] i. e. those.

l. 29. dissolate] i. e. dissolute.

Page 203. l. 6. glauca] Properly, I believe, glaucus.

—— eyen beholdinge a trauers] i. e., I suppose, eyes looking askance.

l. 7. syntillously] i. e. so as to emit sparks.

l. 14. were delybered] i. e. were advised, were minded.

l. 16. domage] i. e. damage, loss.

l. 20. brenneth] i. e. burneth.

l. 21. edefyed] i. e. built.

l. 24. egally] i. e. equally, justly.

l. 28. incontinente] i. e. immediately.

Page 203. l. 29. Cayme] i. e. Cain. So formerly the name was often written:

l. 32. Thesius] Should of course be Thyestes, as in Locher’s Latin: yet Barclay in his version of the passage has,

Page 204. l. 4. rested] i. e. roasted.

—— theim] i. e., perhaps, (if it be not a misprint for “him”) the guests: but the whole passage is scarcely intelligible.

l. 6. Ethiocles] So written in Locher’s Latin for Eteocles; and so Lydgate,—

l. 12. collacion] Equivalent here, I believe, to comparison.

l. 17. cautellous] i. e. crafty, wily.

l. 25. pill] i. e. strip.

l. 26. mondayne] i. e. worldly, gross.

l. 27. cheseth] i. e. chooseth.

Page 205. l. 7. thoughte] See note, p. 101. v. 10.

l. 8. lenger] i. e. longer.

l. 17. sith] i. e. since.

l. 18. asprely] i. e. roughly, severely.

—— enforce] i. e. exert.

Concerning the “yong scolers” against whom this piece was composed, I can give no information.

Page 206. l. 9. contemplationem] See note, p. 214, title of Epitaph.

Page 207. l. 4. remordyng] See note, p. 193. v. 101.

—— recrayed] See note, p. 223. v. 26.

l. 5. rechelesse] i. e. reckless.

l. 25. enbolned] i. e. swollen, puffed up.

l. 26. pipplyng] i. e. piping: compare our author’s Garlande of Laurell, v. 676. vol. i. 388.

l. 29. lusty] i. e. pleasant, desirable.

Page 208. l. 1. sped] i. e. versed.

l. 2. connyng] i. e. knowledge, learning.

v. 8.

Here the tavern with the sign of the Three Cranes is meant: the three cranes were originally three strong cranes of timber, placed on the Vintry-wharf, for lifting from the ships the vessels of foreign wine which were landed there.

Page 208. v. 16. enflamed] i. e. burned.

last l. Ouer] i. e. Besides.

—— processe] i. e. treatise; see notes, p. 143. v. 735. p. 146. v. 969. p. 195. v. 157; and compare v. 160 of this piece with the heading before v. 343, where “matter” and “processe” are used as synonymous.

Page 209. l. 5. tetrycall] i. e. sour, sullen, gloomy.

l. 6. friscaioly] So in the Interlude of the iiii Elementes, n. d.;

l. 7. moche better bayned than brayned] Does bayned here mean—boned? In (at least Scottish) poetry we frequently find the expression “bayne [bone] and brayne:” see, for instance, Henry’s Wallace, B. vii. v. 596. ed. Jam.

l. 9. burblyng] “I Burbyll or spring vp as water dothe out of a spring.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. clxxix. (Table of Verbes).

where a word has dropt out of the line. (The ed. reprinted for the Roxburgh Club has—

—— blode] i. e. blood.

l. 11. rechelesse] i. e. reckless.

l. 15. perihermeniall principles] i. e. principles of interpretation. “Periermeniæ, Interpretationes; vox Græcæ originis περὶ ἑρμηνείας.” Du Cange’s Gloss.

l. 17. leudly] i. e. ignorantly—or perhaps, wickedly.

l. 23. surcudant] i. e. presumptuous, arrogant.

l. 24. popholy] Occurs again several times in our author’s writings, and with the more correct spelling,—popeholy. In Pierce Plowman we find,

In Chaucer’s Romaunt of the Rose is the following description;

The original French of the preceding passage is,—

Roquefort (Gloss. de la Langue Romaine) cites these lines under “Papelardie, papelardise: Hypocrisie, tromperie, subtilité, mauvaise foi.” See too Du Cange’s Gloss. in vv. Papelardia, Papelardus. Compare also Lydgate;

and Barclay;

and the Interlude of the iiii Elementes, n. d.;

Page 209. l. 33. orgulyous] i. e. proud, insolent.

Page 210. v. 22. vnbrent] i. e. unburnt.

v. 23. content] As the marginal note has Convenio, is it not a misprint for “convent?”

v. 24. leudly] i. e. badly, wickedly.

v. 26. disable] i. e. disqualify, degrade, disparage: “disablinge hymself in wordes, though his entent was otherwise.” Hall’s Chron. (Hen. viii.) fol. lvii. ed. 1548.

v. 37. ianglyng] i. e. babbling, chattering,—noisy.

v. 38. clawes] i. e. clause.

v. 39. poppyng dawes] Compare our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte;

and v. 121 of the present piece;

“Popping, blabbing, like a popinjay or parrot.” Gloss. to Exmoor Scolding: dawes, i. e. simpletons; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

Page 210. v. 45. recrayed] See note, p. 223. v. 26.

v. 48. baudrie] i. e. foul language: see note, p. 161. v. 90.

v. 50. to] i. e. too.

Page 211. v. 54. confettred] i. e. confederated.

v. 61. attamed] i. e. tamed.

v. 65. sorte] i. e. set, company.

v. 66. fayne] i. e. glad.

v. 75. Te he, &c.] Expressions of laughter;

v. 76. mo] i. e. more.

Page 212. v. 87. reny] i. e. renounce, abjure.

v. 89. brende] i. e. burnt.

v. 92. discured] i. e. discovered.

v. 95.

The old (and unique) copy is without punctuation in this passage; but that the first line closes the sense, and that Skelton did not mean that these heretics were unhappely ured in their dialectical, &c. would appear from a comparison of other passages:

In our author’s Colyn Cloute we find,

in the note on which line I have cited various examples of vre in the sense of—hap, luck; and in his poem Against the Scottes,

which surely means—Ill-fortuned, &c. (Fr. malheur). Is vnhappely vred to be considered as nearly synonymous with male vryd, or is it to be explained,—unhappily (evilly) used, practised, habituated?

Page 212. v. 98.

“Nullus syllogismus categoricus communis, vel ex solis particularibus, vel ex solis negativis constare potest. Hanc [regulam] expresse tradit Aristoteles libro primo Prior. capite 24. numero primo. Hinc metrum hoc natum:

v. 107. Your hertes than were hosed] i. e. Your hearts were in your hose (breeches): so again our author in his Why come ye nat to Courte;

See too Ray’s Proverbs, (Scottish), p. 292. ed. 1768.

v. 113. quosshons] i. e. cushions.

v. 115. Harpocrates] The God of Silence.

Page 213. v. 120. folysshly] i. e. foolishly.

—— fopped] A singular example of the word as a verb.

v. 121. porisshly] In our author’s Garlande of Laurell is “porisshly pynk iyde,” v. 626. vol. i. 386 (and Palsgrave has “Porisshly, as one loketh that can nat se well”); see note on the passage: but I cannot determine the meaning of the word here.

v. 124. dawes] i. e. simpletons; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 126. elenkes] i. e. elenchs (elenchus—in logic).

v. 132. prouoke and tyse] i. e. incite and entice.

v. 143. exhibycion] i. e. allowance of money.

v. 144. skoles] i. e. schools.

v. 145. foles] i. e. fools.

v. 147. founde] i. e. maintained.

Page 214. v. 156. brute] i. e. saying, proverb.

v. 165. skyes] i. e. clouds.

v. 168. dawns] i. e. dance.

v. 169. ray] See note, p. 194. v. 170.

v. 171. lau] i. e. law.

v. 172. shayle] See note, p. 97. v. 19.

Page 214. v. 175. babyls] i. e. baubles.

Page 215. v. 196. face] i. e. face out.

v. 199. to] i. e. too.

v. 204. lollardy] i. e. heretical; see note, p. 204. v. 145.

v. 206. predycacion] i. e. declaration,—or preaching.

v. 207. knowlege] i. e. acknowledge.

v. 212. muse] Is properly the opening in a fence or thicket, through which a hare or other beast of sport, is accustomed to pass: see Nares’s Gloss. in v. and Moor’s Suff. Words, in v. Mewse.

v. 215.

Whatever Skelton may have meant by “chatyng,”—(perhaps he uses it for chatting,—in the next line we have “pratyng”),—rechatyng is properly a hunting-term, and signifies sounding the rechate or recheat (Fr.), a certain set of notes blown with the horn to recal the dogs.

v. 219. pystels] i. e. epistles.

Page 216. v. 220. bremely] i. e. fiercely, roughly.

v. 234. lydder] i. e. bad.

v. 247. popeholy] See note on prose of this piece, l. 24. p. 230.

Page 217. v. 260. echone] i. e. each one.

v. 264. iangle] i. e. babble, chatter.

v. 267. the people of lay fee] i. e. the laity; as again in our author’s Colyn Cloute;

fee, i. e. possessions; see Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales, Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang., and Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. in v.

v. 274. snapper] i. e. stumble; but see note, p. 92. v. 4.

—— werkes] i. e. works.

v. 280. mo] i. e. more.

v. 281. latria] “Le culte que nous déférons à Dieu seul, nous l’appellons Latrie [λατρεία].” Perroniana, p. 312. ed. 1740.

v. 285.

—ouerse, i. e. overlook: longeth, i. e. belongeth. “L’adoration de Superdulie est celle qui se défère à la Vierge, et elle est plus eminente pour la grace qu’elle a reçu de Dieu, plus particuliere que les autres Saints, pour avoir porté le Fils de Dieu en ses entrailles.” Perroniana, p. 71. “Aux Saints nous déférons l’honneur qu’on appelle Dulie.” Id. p. 312. ed. 1740. “Dulia [δουλεία] enim adoratio est, quæ etiam creaturæ exhibetur, quæ duas species habet, unam quæ hominibus indifferenter, alteram quæ soli humanitati Christi exhibetur.” Gaufridus Abbas in Epist. ad Albinum Cardinalem,—cited by Du Cange, Gloss. in v.

Page 218. v. 293. mased] i. e. bewildered, confounded.

v. 295. brent] i. e. burnt.

v. 296. bvsynesse] i. e. trouble.

v. 297. vyse] i. e. advise.

v. 298. scoles] i. e. schools.

v. 299. foles] i. e. fools.

Page 219. v. 303. replycable] i. e. such as can be replied to.

Page 220. v. 323. remorded] See note, p. 193. v. 101.

v. 225. his pystell ad Paulinum] i. e. his Epistle ad Paulinum presbyterum de omnibus divinæ historiæ libris, prefixed to the Vulgate: the passage quoted by Skelton is also to be found in Hieronymi Opera, I. 1011. ed. 1609.

—— Serenus] The Scholium on this name in Hieronymi Opera is: “Aulus Serenus lyricus ipse etiam fuit, et, ut Terentianus est auctor, eleganti ac facili ingenio, et ad jocos amoresque describendos accommodato: Martianus Capella ac Nonius sæpius ejus carmina citant.” I. 1017. ed. 1609.—See also an account of Serenus, prefixed to his extant pieces, in Wernsdorf’s Poetæ Latini Minores, tom. ii.

v. 337. armony] i. e. harmony.

Page 221. processe] See note, p. 230, on last line (prose) of p. 208.

v. 359.

—sadly loke, i. e. seriously look, consider. In the Garlande of Laurell Skelton mentions, as one of his own compositions,

Qy. does he allude to it here?

Page 222. v. 395. auaunce] i. e. advance.

Page 223. v. 399. make] i. e. compose.

v. 405. vnhappely vred] See note on v. 95. p. 232.

“That this piece was composed subsequently to the year 1515, seems evident from the mention made in one place [v. 283] of ‘Kynge Lewes of Fraunce’ as an example of liberality [and as dead, v. 285]; and this could only mean Louis xii., who died in that year, as his immediate predecessor of that name [who died in 1483] was the most niggardly of wretches.” MS. note by Ritson on a transcript of Magnyfycence.

Page 226. v. 4. probate] In our author’s Garlande of Laurell mention is made of

where probate is proof, meaning, or, perhaps, interpretation: but in what sense Skelton uses the word here I cannot determine, the greater part of this speech being beyond my comprehension.

v. 5. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 6. vnhappely be vryd] See note, p. 232. v. 95.

v. 9. amense] i. e., perhaps, amends.

v. 10. by] i. e. buy, acquire.

v. 16. sad] i. e. grave, serious, sober.

v. 17. lure] See note, p. 147. v. 1100.

v. 22. wonnys] i. e. dwells.

—— and a man wolde wyt] i. e. if a man would know.

v. 24. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

Page 227. v. 33. Ye, to knackynge ernyst what and it preue]—i. e. Yea, what if it prove mocking earnest: compare the preceding line, and see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scott. Lang. in v. Knack.

v. 35. in the mew] i. e. in confinement,—properly, the place in which hawks were kept, or in which fowls were fattened: see note on Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 219.

v. 36. a cue] Is explained (see Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. &c.)—a farthing, as being merely the sound of q̄, the abbreviation of quadrans. But Minsheu has; “Cue, halfe a farthing, so called because they set down in the Battling or Butterie Bookes in Oxford and Cambridge the letter q. for halfe a farthing, and in Oxford when they make that Cue or q. a farthing, they say, Cap my q., and make it a farthing thus qͣ. But in Cambridge,” &c. Guide into Tongues, ed. 1617.

v. 37. to] i. e. too.

Page 227. v. 39. condyssende] “I Condescende I agre to a mater.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cxciiii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 44. countenaunce] i. e. continence, restraint.

v. 45. let] i. e. hinder, restrain.

v. 47. corage] i. e. inclination, desires.

v. 56. parcell] i. e. part, portion.

v. 57. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 60.

i. e. I could bring in somewhat to hinder, contravene, your conception of the subject. So again in our author’s Garlande of Laurell;

Page 228. v. 65. fet] i. e. fetch.

v. 72. the surpluse of my sawe] i. e. the remainder of my saying.

v. 74. where as] i. e. where.

v. 80. ryn] i. e. run.

v. 86. wonder] I may observe that the Roxburgh reprint, without authority, and against the sense, has “no wonder.”

v. 89. ken] i. e. instruct.

v. 90. wonders] i. e. wondrous.

v. 92. to] i. e. too.

Page 229. v. 94. other] i. e. either.

v. 95.

So Skelton again;

He has also,

Arect in our early writers frequently signifies—impute, a meaning foreign to the present passages: in the two last cited, there can be no doubt that it is used in the sense of—raise: in the others it seems to mean—offer, refer.

Page 229. v. 103. Come of, therfore, let se] Compare Chaucer;

and Reynard the Fox; “Why tarye ye thus longe, come of.” Sig. b 7. ed. 1481: and Morte d’Arthur; “Come of thenne sayd they alle, and do hit.” Book xx. cap. iiii. vol. ii. 394. ed. Southey.

v. 106. reason and skyll] An expression which Skelton has elsewhere; but the words are nearly synonymous. “Skyll. Racio.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 113. chere] i. e. spirit,—or reception.

v. 114. intere] i. e. entire.

v. 115. Oracius to recorde] i. e. Horace to witness.

v. 117. to] i. e. too.

v. 126. Measure is treasure] Lydgate mentions this as “an olde prouerbe:” see his verses on Moderation, MS. Harl. 2251. fol. 29, and his poem beginning “Men wryte of oold how mesour is tresour.” Id. 2255. fol. 143.

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

Page 230. v. 131. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 133. kynde] i. e. nature.

v. 134. renne] i. e. run.

v. 137. a rest] i. e. a wrest—by which the strings of harps and other musical instruments were drawn up.

v. 138. All trebyllys and tenours be rulyd by a meyne] “Intercentus, a meane of a songe.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d. In the notes on Shakespeare, in Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. &c., mean is wrongly explained—tenor: what the mean was, depended entirely on the nature of the composition.

v. 139. beste] i. e. beast.

v. 149. skyll] i. e. reason: see note on v. 106.

v. 150. sad] i. e. grave, serious, sober.

v. 151. It is no maystery] “Maystry done by delyuernesse ung tovr de souplesse, appertise.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlvi. (Table of Subst.); and see note, p. 113. v. 329.

“That is lytel maystry sayd syre launcelot to slee myn hors.” Morte d’Arthur, B. xix. c. iiii. vol. ii. 369. ed. Southey.

Page 230. v. 153. herdely] i. e. firmly.

Page 231. v. 166. hyght] i. e. am called.

v. 175. Conuenyent] i. e. Fit, suitable.

—— ryall] i. e. royal.

v. 178. syttynge] i. e. proper, becoming,—a word very common in our early poetry (altered unnecessarily to “fyttynge” in the Roxburgh reprint of this piece).

v. 182. his large] i. e. his range.

v. 184. hooly] i. e. wholly.

v. 189. sawe] i. e. sow.

v. 190. nother to] i. e. neither too.

—— lawe] i. e. low: so again in v. 2541, “nowe hy, nowe lawe degre.”

v. 193. consayte] i. e. conception.

Page 232. v. 202. losyll so lyther] i. e. scoundrel so wicked.

v. 209. plenarly] i. e. fully, entirely.

v. 213. Had I wyste] See note, p. 86. v. 40.

v. 216. to fer] i. e. too far.

v. 219. defaute] i. e. default, want.

v. 226. mone] i. e. moon.

v. 230. lyghtly] “Lightly or sone [i. e. soon]. Leuiter.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499: or, easily.

Page 233. v. 231. to moche] i. e. too much.

v. 233. scole] i. e. school.

v. 234. a poppynge fole]—fole, i. e. fool. “He is a popte fole or a starke fole for the nones. Homo fatuitate monstrabilis.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. P iii. ed. 1530. And see note, p. 231. v. 39.

v. 239. delyaunce] i. e. dalliance, delay.

v. 249. endure] i. e. remain, dwell.

v. 256. Here is none forsyth whether you flete or synke]—forsyth, i. e. regardeth, careth: flete, i. e. float, swim. So Chaucer;

v. 257. lokyd] i. e. looked.

v. 259. hafter] See note, p. 107. v. 138.

Page 234. v. 260. iangelynge Jacke of the vale] i. e. chattering, &c.; see note, p. 104. v. 6.

v. 266. Mary] i. e. by the Virgin Mary.

v. 267. largesse] i. e. bounty, liberality.

v. 269. worshyp] i. e. honour, dignity.

v. 272. hyght] i. e. am called.

v. 274. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 280. hardely] i. e. firmly.

Page 234. v. 280. auaunce] i. e. advance.

v. 283. reporte me] i. e. refer.

—— Kynge Lewes] i. e. King Louis the twelfth: see note on title, p. 236.

v. 285. syth] i. e. since.

v. 290. Jacke shall haue Gyl] So Heywood;

Page 235. v. 295. broder] i. e. brother.

v. 296. I set not by] i. e. I value not.

—— Dauncaster cuttys] i. e. Doncaster horses.—Cut was a term for a common horse, from its having the tail cut short.

v. 297. bolte] i. e. arrow (for a description of it, see Nares’s Gloss. in v.).

—— shote] i. e. shoot.

v. 298. hyght] i. e. be called.

v. 300. this checke if ye voyde canne] “Checke a mery taunt.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., fol. xxiii. (Table of Subst.). “I Voyde a thyng out of the way or out of syght, Ie oste.” Id. fol. ccclxxxxix. (Table of Verbes).

v. 301. to longe to scole] i. e. too long to school.

v. 302. gose] i. e. goose.

v. 303. pole] i. e. pool, water.

v. 304. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 306. Go, shake the dogge, hay] See note, p. 226. v. 28.

v. 310. to play with me checke mate] In allusion to the king being put in check at the game of chess.

v. 311. your noble estate] Equivalent to—your noble lordship.

v. 312. recorde] i. e. testimony.

v. 314. Sad] i. e. Grave, serious, sober.

v. 318. hele] i. e. health.

v. 319. commaunde] i. e. commend.

v. 321. ony] i. e. any.

v. 322. sone] i. e. soon.

v. 323. kepe] i. e. heed, care, attention.

Page 236. v. 325. after none] i. e. afternoon.

v. 327. Whylest] i. e. Until.

v. 333. mynde] i. e. fancy.

v. 336. beholde] i. e. beholden.

v. 341. By lakyn] i. e. by our Lady: lakyn is the contraction of ladykyn, little lady.

v. 346. Pountesse] i. e. Pontoise.

Page 236. v. 347. taken me] i. e. committed, consigned to me.

Page 237. v. 355. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 357. They bare me in hande that I was a spye] i. e. They accused me, laid to my charge, that, &c.

“I Beare in hande I threp vpon a man that he hath done a dede, or make hym byleue so, Ie fais accroyre” ... “What crime or yuell mayest thou beare me in hande of: Quel crime ou mal me peulx tu mettre sus.” Palgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. clxii. (Table of Verbes). “Many be borne an hande of a faute, and punysshed therfore, that were neuer gylty. Plerique facinoris insimulantur,” &c. Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. m ii. ed. 1530. This expression occurs with a different shade of meaning in our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte,—

v. 362.

Friar Tuck was one of Robin Hood’s merry companions. Concerning these lines Ritson remarks that there is “an evident allusion to some game or practice now totally forgotten and inexplicable.” Robin Hood, i. xxvi.

v. 364. antetyme] i. e. text. So in the absurd story of Skelton’s preaching, Merie Tales, (reprinted in Appendix to Account of his Life and Writings), “I say, as I said before in my antethem, vos estis.” Tale vii.

v. 366. moche warke] i. e. much work, trouble.

v. 367. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 369. made largesse as I hyght] i. e. made donation of money according to my name (Fancy’s assumed name being Largesse, see v. 272).

v. 375. grete estates] i. e. persons of great estate or rank.

Page 238. v. 384. ye] i. e. yea.

v. 385. mesure is a mery mene] Heywood in his Epigrammes vpon Prouerbs has ten on “Measure is a mery meane.” Sig. N iiii.,—Workes, ed. 1598.

v. 388. ryall] i. e. royal.

v. 391. oder] i. e. other.

v. 405. blunderyng] i. e. disturbance. “I Blonder, Ie perturbe.”

Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. clxviii. (Table of Verbes).

Page 238. v. 406. betake] i. e. commit, consign.

v. 411. to put the stone] i. e. to throw the stone above hand, from the uplifted hand, for trial of strength.

Page 239. v. 413. gyse] i. e. guise, fashion, manner.

v. 417. I set not by] i. e. I value not.

v. 423. lurdayne] i. e. lumpish, lazy fellow, clown,—worthless person in general.

v. 425. tappyster] i. e. woman presiding over the tap in a public house.

v. 429. can] i. e. know.

—— praty] i. e. pretty.

v. 430. occupy] i. e. use: see note, p. 86. v. 52.

—— kayes] i. e. keys.

v. 433. at all assayes] Occurs again in v. 2303. “At all assayes, En tous poynts, or a tous poynts.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxxxviii. (Table of Aduerbes). “He is a frende at all assayes. Omnium horarum amicus est.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. Y iiii. ed. 1530.

v. 435. mekyll] i. e. much.

v. 444. sleyght] i. e. trick, artful contrivance.

Page 240. v. 446. fayty bone geyte] Perhaps corrupted French—fait a bon get or geste.

v. 449. consayte] i. e. conceit, conception.

v. 453. noppe is rughe] i. e. nap is rough.

v. 455. chafer] i. e. merchandise.

v. 458. The courtly gyse of the newe iet] A somewhat pleonastic expression,—the courtly guise of the new fashion. “Gette a custome guise nouuelle.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xxxvi. (Table of Subst.).

v. 460. ferre fet] i. e. far fetched.

v. 461. ymet] i. e. met.

v. 462. Margery Mylke Ducke] See note, p. 172. v. 418.

—— mermoset] A kind of ape or monkey.

v. 465. fresshe] i. e. smart.

v. 469. praty] i. e. pretty.

v. 470. iet] i. e. strut; see note, p. 94. v. 43.

v. 472. pope holy] See note, p. 230. l. 24.

v. 473. sadnesse] i. e. gravity, seriousness, soberness, discreetness.

Page 240. v. 475. not worth a flye] See note, p. 219. v. 104.

v. 477. occupy] i. e. use; see note, p. 86. v. 52.

v. 478. worshyp] i. e. honour, dignity.

Page 241. v. 482. tehe wehe] See note, p. 232. v. 75.

v. 485. knokylbonyarde] Compare Palsgrave’s Acolastus, 1540; “Do I raygne here on this facion, being a swynherde amongest swyne of Boeatia. i. amongest a meyny of iacke holde my staues, or knockyldeboynyardes, beinge but of late a kynge,” &c. Sig. Y iiii.; and Heywood’s Dialogue, &c.,—

v. 486. to] i. e. too.

v. 488. warke] i. e. work, business, matter.

v. 489. yarke] i. e. strike, lash.

v. 490. custrell] “Coustrell that wayteth on a speare covsteillier.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xxvii. (Table of Subst.). “Coustillier: An Esquire of the body; an Armour-bearer unto a Knight; the servant of a man at Armes; also, a groom of a stable, a horse-keeper.” Cotgrave’s Dict.

v. 492. this] i. e. thus; see note, p. 86. v. 38 (and so in the next line).

—— freers] i. e. friars.

—— famine] “Famen, sermo, verbum.” Du Cange’s Gloss.

v. 506. By God, I haue bene about a praty pronge]—praty, i. e. pretty: in the present line at least, pronge seems to mean—prank (Dutch pronk), whatever be its signification in the following passage of our author’s Colyn Cloute;

Page 242. v. 510. pagent] i. e. part: see notes, p. 88. v. 85; p. 189. v. 190.

v. 512. by lakyn] See note on v. 341. p. 240.

v. 513. heyre parent] i. e. heir apparent.

v. 514. rome] i. e. room, place.

v. 516. to] i. e. too.

v. 518. Cockys harte] i. e. God’s heart (Cock, a corruption of God).

v. 521. thee] i. e. thrive.

v. 526. hyght] i. e. am called.

v. 529. large] A play on the meanings of the word,—big, and liberal.

Page 242. v. 533. cofer kay] i. e. coffer-key.

v. 535. auowe] i. e. vow: see note, p. 109. v. 199.

Page 243. v. 539. alowde] i. e. approved.

v. 554. in same] i. e. in the same place (a pleonasm,—since “togyder” precedes).

v. 561. Can] i. e. Know.

v. 562. spedde] i. e. versed.

v. 564. iapes] i. e. jests, jokes.

v. 568. ouerwharte] i. e. overthwart—cross, perverse, wrangling.

v. 569. beshrowe] i. e. curse.

v. 571. iangle] i. e. babble, chatter.

Page 244. v. 573. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 575. my botes and my spores] i. e. my boots and my spurs.

v. 578. Cockes woundes] i. e. God’s wounds; see note on v. 518, preceding page.

v. 580. loketh] i. e. looketh.

v. 585. iurde hayte] Words (French perhaps) which I do not understand.

v. 591. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 592. a leysshe of ratches to renne an hare] i. e. a leash of—three—hounds to run a hare.

v. 597. prece] i. e. press.

Page 245. v. 609. to] i. e. too.

v. 625. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 628. do togyder] i. e. put it together.

v. 629. ony] i. e. any.

v. 633. wonne] i. e. dwell.

v. 635. a captyuyte] Is rather, I suspect, a misprint for, than used in the sense of—in: compare v. 2543.

Page 246. v. 639. the playnesse] i. e. the plain fact.

v. 644. thee] i. e. thrive.

v. 658. a pystell of a postyke]—pystell, i. e. epistle, letter; but I do not understand the expression.

v. 659. fonnysshe] i. e. foolish.

v. 666. freke] i. e. fellow: see notes, p. 109. v. 187; p. 178. v. 15.

v. 667. peke] “I Peke or prie.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccxvii. [—xv.] (Table of Verbes).

Page 247. v. 672. rome] i. e. room, place.

v. 679. hyght] i. e. be called.

v. 681. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 685. By the armes of Calys] See note, p. 118. v. 398.

v. 687. slyght] i. e. trick, artful contrivance.

v. 688. fonde consayte] i. e. foolish conceit,—fantasies.

Page 247. v. 690. sadnesse] See note on v. 473. p. 242.

v. 692. Cockys body] i. e. God’s body: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 695. whylyst] i. e. until.

v. 698. quyte] i. e. acquit.

—— praty] i. e. pretty.

Page 248. v. 707. haftynge] See note, p. 107. v. 138.

v. 713. geste] i. e. guest.

v. 719. hynder] “Hyndringe or harmynge. Dampnificacio.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “I Hynder I hurte, Ie porte dommage.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cclxii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 720. hode] i. e. hood.

v. 722. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 730. lacke] i. e. blame.

v. 732. sped] i. e. versed.

v. 733. lytherly] i. e. wickedly.

v. 734. Paynte] See note, p. 176. v. 583.

Page 249. v. 737. fauell] See note, p. 107. v. 134.

—— tyned] i. e. pointed, pronged.

v. 745. shrewdenes] i. e. wickedness, evil.

v. 746. grete estates] i. e. persons of great estate, or rank.

v. 748. flery] i. e. fleer.

—— pretence] i. e. intent.

v. 751. bronde] i. e. brand.

v. 752. mase] i. e. bewilder, confound.

—— fonde] i. e. foolish.

v. 754. bale] i. e. sorrow, trouble.

v. 755. Huffa, huffa] See note, p. 181. v. 16.

v. 756. a] i. e. he.

v. 757. Rutty bully] See note, p. 94. v. 29.

—— ioly rutterkyn, heyda] Occurs in a song preserved in the Fairfax MS. which once belonged to Ralph Thoresby, and is now among the Additional MSS. in the British Museum (5465, fol. 114):

Sir John Hawkins printed the above song (with the music) and tells us that it “is supposed to be a satire on those drunken Flemings who came into England with the princess Anne of Cleve, upon her marriage with king Hen. viii.” Hist. of Music, iii. 2. But if it be the very song quoted in our text, it must allude to “rutterkyns” of a considerably earlier period; and, as the Fairfax MS. contains two other pieces which are certainly known to be from Skelton’s pen, there is a probability that this also was composed by him.

Court. Ab. in his next speech but one says, “am not I a ioly rutter?” and (v. 846)

Rutter, which properly means—a rider, a trooper (Germ. reiter, reuter), came to be employed, like its diminutive rutterkin, as a cant term, and with various significations, (see Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. q iii. ed. 1530; Drant’s Horace His Arte of Poetrie, pistles, &c. sig. D ii. ed. 1567). When Court. Ab. asks “am not I a ioly rutter?” he evidently uses the word in the sense of—dashing fellow, gallant, alluding to his dress, on which he afterwards enlarges in a soliloquy. In v. 805 Cr. Con. terms him “this ioly ietter.” Compare the following passage of Medwall’s Interlude of Nature, n. d.;

Page 249. v. 759. Decke your hofte, &c..]—hofte, i. e. head. If I rightly understand the passage, Court. Ab. desires Cl. Col. to put on his hat, or cap: see note below the text.

v. 760. Say vous, &c.] i. e. Savez vous, &c.: the last three words of the line seem to be the beginning of some French song.

Page 249. v. 761. Wyda] i. e. Oui da!

v. 763. rome] i. e. room, place.

—— stonde vtter] i. e. stand out, back.

v. 765. a betell or a batowe, or a buskyn lacyd] In Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d., besides “Feritorium. anglice a battynge staffe a batyll dur or a betyll,” we find “Porticulus. anglice a lytell handstaff or a betyll.” For “batowe” I have proposed in a note below the text “batone” (baton), a conjecture which is somewhat supported by the preceding word; but it seems more probable that the right reading is “botowe,” i. e. boot, for the work above cited has “Ocree ... anglice botis or botwes [ed. 1514—botowes],” and Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499 gives “Botewe. Coturnus.”

Page 250. v. 768. Jacke Hare] See note, p. 211. v. 270.

—— loke thou be not rusty] i. e. look that thou be not cankered, uncivil.

v. 769. nother] i. e. neither.

v. 770. lusty] See note, p. 183, heading of poem.

v. 773. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 775. swap] i. e. swop: see Richardson’s Dict. in v. “I Swappe I stryke.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccclxxxi. (Table of Verbes).

—— fotys] i. e. foots, footest.

v. 776. Ye] i. e. Yea.

—— gere] i. e. apparel.

v. 780. mo] i. e. more.

v. 782. a bole of newe ale in cornys] i. e. a bowl, &c.: see note, p. 171. v. 378.

v. 784. auysed] i. e. purposed on consideration.

v. 786. rome] i. e. room, place, office.

Page 251. v. 789. Cockys harte] i. e. God’s heart: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 790. for the armys of the dyce] Some cant exclamation.

v. 793. fayne] i. e. glad.

v. 795. rynne] i. e. run.

v. 796. cayser] i. e. Cæsar, or, as it is generally explained, emperor: in the Coventry Mysteries, however, a distinction is made between these terms;

v. 798. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 799. tende] i. e. attend.

v. 805. ietter] i. e. strutter,—gallant: see note, p. 94. v. 43, and note on v. 757. p. 246.

Page 251. v. 806. supplye] i. e. supplicate.

v. 810. I ne tell can] i. e. I cannot tell.

Page 252. v. 818. gyse] i. e. guise, fashion.

v. 819. we wyll be aduysed twyse] i. e. we will consider of it twice.

v. 821. crake] i. e. speak vauntingly.

v. 827. bende] i. e. band.

v. 830. tawle] i. e. brave, bold.

v. 832. defaute] i. e. default, defect.

v. 833. hawte] i. e. haughty.

v. 834. pose] i. e. rheum in the head.

v. 839. loketh] i. e. looketh.

Page 253. v. 843. gere] i. e. apparel.

v. 844. My heyre bussheth]—heyre, i. e. hair. So Barclay, alluding to the “newe fassions and disguised garmentes” of the time;

v. 847. ruttyngly] i. e. dashingly, gallantly: see note on v. 757. p. 246.

v. 850. To daunce delyght] So afterwards, Magnyfycence, exulting in his prosperity, says, “I dawnce all in delyte,” v. 1510.

v. 852. poynte deuyse] i. e. perfectly exact: see Gifford’s note on B. Jonson’s Works, iv. 169.

v. 855. gyse] i. e. guise, fashion.

v. 857. route] i. e. crowd, assembly.

v. 859. My sleue is wyde] So Barclay describes the young gallants of the time with “Their sleues blasing like to a Cranes winges.” The Ship of Fooles, fol. 8. ed. 1570. Wide sleeves are also mentioned in the following curious passage of Medwall’s Interlude of Nature, n. d. (written before the year 1500); the speaker is Pride:

Page 253. v. 861. hose] i. e. breeches.

v. 866. hyght] i. e. am called.

v. 871. thee] i. e. thrive.

v. 872. fon] i. e. fool.

Page 254. v. 878. pore] i. e. poor.

v. 881. to to] So in v. 2121;

Compare M. Harry Whobals mon to M. Camel, &c. (folio broadside among the “flytings” of Churchyard and Camell);

Ray gives “Too too will in two. Chesh.” Proverbs, p. 163. ed. 1768.

v. 884. crake] i. e. vaunt.

Page 254. v. 885. I befoule his pate] i. e. I befool, &c. (not befoul), as it would seem from v. 1057, “I befole thy face;” and v. 1829, “I befole thy brayne pan.”

v. 886. fonne iet] i. e. foolish fashion (see note on v. 458. p. 242).

v. 887. From out of Fraunce] So Barclay;

Borde, in his Boke of knowledge, introduces a Frenchman saying,

v. 889. purueaunce] i. e. provision.

v. 907. carlys] i. e. churl’s.

v. 909. wonne] i. e. dwell.

Page 255. v. 915. slyue] i. e. sleeve.

v. 918. preue] i. e. prove.

v. 919. A Tyborne checke] i. e. a rope.

—— craynge, Stow, stow]—craynge, i. e. crying. See note, p. 206. v. 73.

v. 921. out of harre] i. e. out of hinge, out of order: see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. and Suppl. in v. Har. The expression occurs again in v. 2121; and is found in the Towneley Myst. and G. Douglas’s Virgil’s Æn.

v. 923. warre] i. e. worse.

v. 932. farly] i. e. strange.

v. 933. lokys] i. e. looks.

v. 934. an hawke of the towre] So again our author in the Garlande of Laurell;

i. e., says Warton, “in the king’s mews in the Tower,” Hist. of E.P. ii. 355. ed. 4to: and the following lines occur in a poem called Armony of Byrdes, n. d. (attributed without authority to Skelton), reprinted entire in Typograph. Antiq. iv. 380. ed. Dibdin;

But I apprehend that by a hawke of the towre Skelton means—a hawk that towers aloft, takes a station high in the air, and thence swoops upon her prey. Juliana Berners mentions certain hawks which “ben hawkes of the toure.” Book of St. Albans, sig. c. v.: and Turbervile says; “Shee [the hobby] is of the number of those Hawkes that are hie flying and towre Hawks.” Booke of Falconrie, p. 53. ed. 1611.

Page 255. v. 935. the malarde] i. e. the wild-drake.

v. 936. becked] i. e. beaked.

v. 938. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

Page 256. v. 940. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 947. spere] i. e. spire, shoot,—stripling. So in our author’s third poem Against Garnesche, “But a slendyr spere.” v. 41. vol. i. 121.

v. 953. mo] i. e. more.

v. 954. in the dyuyls date] See note, p. 116. v. 375.

v. 956. he playeth the state] i. e. he playeth the person of consequence.

v. 957. pyke out of the gate] “I Pycke me forth out of a place or I pycke me hence, Ie me tyre auant.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccxvi. (Table of Verbes).

v. 962. out of consayte] i. e. out of good opinion, favour.

v. 964. a praty slyght] i. e. a pretty trick, contrivance.

v. 971. Cockes harte] i. e. God’s heart: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 973. poynted after my consayte] i. e. appointed, equipped according to my fancy.

v. 974. thou iettes it of hyght] i. e. thou struttest it in high style: see note, p. 94. v. 43.

Page 257. v. 975. let vs be wyse] Equivalent to—let us understand.

v. 977. come of, it were done] The expression “come of” has occurred before; see note on v. 103. p. 238. Compare Mary Magdalene;

Magnus Herodes;

Still’s Gammer Gurtons Nedle;

See too our author’s Garlande of Laurell, v. 243. vol. i. 371.

Page 257. v. 979. sone] i. e. soon.

v. 980. Stowe] See note, p. 206. v. 73.

v. 982. There is many euyll faueryd, and thou be foule] i. e. There is many a one ill-looking, if thou be ugly: see note, p. 130. v. 442.

v. 985. I wys] i. e. truly, certainly (i-wis, adv.).

v. 987. Jesse] i. e. Jesus.

v. 992. bent] i. e. arched; see note, p. 146. v. 1014.

v. 993. glent] i. e. glancing, bright.

v. 1000. Barbyd lyke a nonne]—nonne, i. e. nun. “The feders vnder the becke [of a hawk] ben callyd the Barbe feders.” Book of Saint Albans, sig. a 5. Barbe is explained by Tyrwhitt to mean a hood or muffler, which covered the lower part of the face and the shoulders; Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales: and he refers to Du Cange in v. Barbuta. According to Strutt, it was a piece of white plaited linen, and belonged properly to mourning: in an edict concerning “The order and manner of apparell for greate estates of weomen in tyme of mourninge,” made by the mother of Henry vii. in the 8th year of his reign, we find “Everye one not beinge vnder the degree of a Baronesse to weare a barbe aboue [Strutt prints by mistake—”about“] the chinne. And all other: as knightes wyfes, to weare yt vnder theire throtes, and other gentleweomen beneath the throte goyll.” MS. Harl. 1354. fol. 12. See Dress and Habits, pp. 323, 325, 326, 368, and plate cxxxv.

v. 1002. donne] i. e. dun.

v. 1003. Well faueryd bonne] So in our author’s Elynour Rummyng, v. 227, “my prety bonny;” see note, p. 166.

v. 1005. rowte] i. e. crowd, assembly.

Page 258. v. 1008. prese] i. e. press, throng.

v. 1009. a hole mese] i. e. a whole mess, set.

v. 1011. I rede, we sease] i. e. I advise that we cease.

v. 1012. farly ... lokys] i. e. strangely ... looks.

v. 1013. becke ... crokys] i. e. beak ... crooks.

v. 1014. tenter hokys] i. e. tenter-hooks.

v. 1015. wokys] i. e. weeks.

v. 1018. The deuyll spede whyt] So again in our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte;

Page 258. v. 1020. to] i. e. too (as in the next two lines).

v. 1023. solempne] i. e. solemn.

v. 1027. a pere] i. e. a pear,—used frequently by our early writers for a thing of no value. “Vayne glory of the world, the whiche is not worth a pere.” Morte d’Arthur, B. xv. cap. vi. vol. ii. 254. ed. Southey.

v. 1028. lese] i. e. lose.

v. 1030. And I may tende] i. e. If I may attend.

v. 1032. halfe] i. e. side.

v. 1035. Fansy seruyce] i. e. Fancy-service.

—— hyght] i. e. am called.

v. 1038. theke] i. e. thatch.

v. 1040. Make a wyndmyll of a mat] Compare v. 2 of our author’s third set of verses Against venemous Tongues, vol. i. 132.

v. 1041. and I wyst] i. e. if I knew.

Page 259. v. 1049. blunder] See note on v. 405. p. 241.

—— blother] i. e. gabble; as in our author’s Colyn Cloute, v. 66. vol. i. 313.

v. 1054. this] i. e. thus: see note, p. 86. v. 38.

v. 1055. euerychone] i. e. every one.

v. 1057. fonnysshe] i. e. foolish.

—— I befole thy face] See note on v. 885. p. 250.

v. 1058. a foles case] i. e. a fool’s habit.

v. 1059. glede] i. e. kite. Nares, Gloss. in v., observes that in the common version of the Bible, Deut. xiv. 13, the glede and kite are erroneously mentioned together as two distinct birds.

v. 1061. thy lyppes hange in thyne eye] So in Thenterlude of Youth, n. d.;

See too Heywood’s Dialogue, &c. sig. F 4,—Workes, ed. 1598.

v. 1066. pylde] i. e. bald—mangy: see note, p. 184. v. 68.

v. 1068. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1069. Mackemurre] A proper name, though not printed as such in the old copy:

v. 1070. budge furre] “Budge or Lambes furre.” Minsheu’s Guide into Tongues. In an order respecting the scholastic habit in the University of Cambridge, dated 1414, (quoted by Todd from Farmer’s papers, in a note on Milton’s Comus, v. 707,) mention is made of “furruris buggeis aut agninis.”

Page 260. v. 1073. thou wylte coughe me a dawe]—dawe, i. e. simpleton; see note, p. 113. v. 301. So in the fourth line after this, “ye shall coughe me a fole:” and in Lilly’s Mother Bombie, 1594; “I know hee will cough for anger that I yeeld not, but he shall cough mee a foole for his labour.” Sig. B 2.

v. 1074. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 1079. can] i. e. know.

v. 1081. broder] i. e. brother.

v. 1082. so hye fro me doth sprynge] i. e. doth (dost) grow so much taller than I.

v. 1088. gere] i. e. apparel.

v. 1089. folysshe] i e. foolish.

v. 1093. flete] i. e. float, flow, abound.

v. 1095. by] i. e. buy.

v. 1096. Cockys harte] i. e. God’s heart: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 1103. syke] i. e. such.

v. 1104. a fole the tone] i. e. a fool the one.

Page 261. v. 1107. warke] i. e. work, business.

v. 1108. donnyshe] i. e. dunnish.

v. 1109. a fonde gest] i. e. a foolish guest.

v. 1111. so folysshe and so fonde] i. e. so foolish and so silly (one of Skelton’s pleonasms).

v. 1118. beshrowe] i. e. curse.

v. 1119. do] i. e. done.

v. 1120. Here is nothynge but the bockyll of a sho] Compare The Bowge of Courte, v. 397. vol. i. 45.

v. 1121. marke] i. e. marks,—the coins so named.

v. 1123. hyght] i. e. is called.

v. 1124. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 1126. a botchment] “Botchement. Additamentum.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 1127. forfende] i. e. prohibit, forbid.

v. 1128. For Goddes cope] So we find as an oath, “By gods blew hood.” Tom Tyler and his Wife, p. 5. ed. 1661.

v. 1131. be tyme] i. e. by time.

v. 1134. praty] i. e. pretty.

v. 1136. Aungey] Does it mean Angers, or Anjou?

Page 262. v. 1142. gate] i. e. got.

v. 1143. puddynges] See note, p. 173. v. 443.

—— wortes] Is here, I suppose, equivalent to—cabbages.

v. 1147. marmosete] A kind of ape, or monkey.

v. 1148. iapes] i. e. jests, jokes.

Page 262. v. 1150. pultre] i. e. poultry, fowl.

—— catell] i. e. beast.

v. 1154. rode] i. e. rood, cross: see note, p. 206. v. 69.

v. 1157. nyfyls] A word sufficiently explained by the context, and of frequent occurrence. So in A Mery Play between Johan the Husbande, Tyb his Wyfe, and Syr Jhan the Preest, 1533, attributed to Heywood;

v. 1158. canest] i. e. knowest.

v. 1159. mased] i. e. bewildered, confounded.

v. 1165. It forseth not] i. e. It matters not.

v. 1168. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

—— sone] i. e. soon.

Page 263. v. 1172. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1175. a farle freke] i. e. a strange fellow: see notes, p. 109. v. 187; p. 178. v. 15.

v. 1176. play well at the hoddypeke]—hoddypeke is a common term of contempt or reproach (as in our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 326. vol. ii. 37), and is generally equivalent to—fool. The original meaning of the word is altogether uncertain. Steevens (note on Gammer Gurtons Nedle) explains it—hodmandod (shell-snail); and Nares (Gloss. in v.) is inclined to agree with him. In a passage of Dunbar’s Dance of the Sevin Deidly Synnis (Poems, i. 51. ed. Laing), “hud-pykis” has been explained (on account of the context)—misers. In Cotgrave’s Dict. is “Noddy peke.”

v. 1182. ne reckys] i. e. recks not.

v. 1185. mo folys] i. e. more fools.

v. 1189. kesteryll] A sort of base-bred hawk.

v. 1190. I wys] i. e. truly, certainly (i-wis, adv.).

—— doteryll] See note, p. 129. v. 409.

v. 1191. In a cote thou can play well the dyser] “Dysoure. Bomolochus. Nugaculus.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “Dissar a scoffar saigefol.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xxix. (Table of Subst.). “He can play the desarde with a contrefet face properly. Morionem scite representat.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. bb iiii. ed. 1530. “One that were skylled in the crafte of dysours or skoffyng fellowes.” Palsgrave’s Acolastus, 1540. sig. H ii.

v. 1195. gatte] i. e. got.

v. 1200. fon] i. e. fool.

Page 264. v. 1205. do mastryes] See note on v. 151. p. 238.

v. 1206. cocke wat] See note, p. 108. v. 173.

v. 1211. rode] i. e. rood, cross: see note, p. 206. v. 69.

—— semblaunt] i. e. semblance.

v. 1215. lyste] i. e. liest.

v. 1216. moght ... lyste] i. e. moth ... list.

v. 1220. Johnn a Bonam] One of the persons who figure in the old metrical tale, The Hunttyng of the Hare, is called “Jac of Bonam:” see Weber’s Met. Rom. iii. 279.

v. 1223. Shyt] i. e. Shut.

—— dawe] i. e. simpleton; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

Page 265. v. 1230. cayser] See note on v. 796. p. 247.

v. 1232. scoles] i. e. schools,—teaching.

v. 1234. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1241. renneth] i. e. runneth.

v. 1242. thefte and bryboury]—bryboury, i. e. pilfering. “Brybery or bribe. Manticulum.”—“Briboure. Manticulus.”—“Bryben. Latricino. Manticulo.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “I Bribe I pull I pyll, Ie bribe. Romant, ie derobbe, ... and ie emble ... He bribeth and he polleth and he gothe to worke: Il bribe,” &c. Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. clxxiiii. (Table of Verbes). “Bribors, Cometh of the French Bribeur, i. e. Mendicus: It seemeth in a legal Signification one that pilfereth other Mens Goods, as Cloaths out of a Window, or the like. Anno 28 Ed. 2. Stat. 1. cap. unico.” Cowel’s Law Dictionary, or The Interpreter, &c. augmented and improved, &c. ed. 1727. So again our author;

So too in The Hye Way to the Spyttell Hous, by Copland, n. d.;

and in Gentylnes and Nobylyte, n. d. (attributed without reason to Heywood);

Other passages might be cited from various poets. And see Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales, and Richardson’s Dict.

v. 1244. a nysot] In Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499 is “Anysot or a folt. Stolidus. Baburrus. Insons.” But in the present passage nysot seems, from the context, to be equivalent to—lazy jade: and in the work just cited we find “Nyce. Iners.”—“Nycehede or nycete. Inercia.”

Page 265. v. 1246. warke] i. e. work.

v. 1247. lyther] i. e. wicked, evil.

v. 1249. Bytwene the tappet and the wall]—tappet, i. e. tapestry. This line has occurred before, in our author’s fourth poem Against Garnesche, v. 75. vol. i. 128.

v. 1252. ony] i. e. any.

v. 1254. sorte] i. e. set, company,—people.

v. 1257. ferre] i. e. far.

Page 266. v. 1258. dawys] i. e. simpletons: see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 1261.

—fyersly and brymly are nearly synonymous: make it koy means here—affect (not merely reserve, but) haughtiness;—and so in our author’s Bowge of Courte,—

v. 1265. besy] i. e. busy.

v. 1270. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 1275. lese moche] i. e. lose much.

v. 1278. mo] i. e. more.

v. 1280. scolys] i. e. schools.

v. 1281. folys] i. e. fools.

v. 1282. lyther] i. e. wicked,—rascals (as in the next line but one—“these lythers”).

v. 1283. Symkyn Tytyuell] See note on Colyn Cloute, v. 418.

v. 1284. lere] i. e. learn.

v. 1289. mykyll] i. e. much.

Page 267. v. 1291. dell] i. e. part.

v. 1293. shroudly] i. e. shrewdly.

v. 1297. fonde] i. e. foolish.

v. 1299. auowe] i. e. vow: see note, p. 109. v. 199.

v. 1301. kynde] i. e. nature.

v. 1303. rutters] See note on v. 757. p. 245.

v. 1308. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

—— boke] i. e. book.

v. 1309. Ye] i. e. Yea.

—— loke] i. e. look.

v. 1312. howe] i. e. ho! stop!

Page 267. v. 1314. scrat] i. e. scratch.

v. 1315. So how] i. e. So ho.

v. 1317. gadde] Does it mean—gadding?

v. 1318. brayne seke] i. e. brain-sick.

v. 1319. to shyre shakynge nought] i. e. to sheer nothing. So in our author’s Elynour Rummyng, (v. 466. vol. i. 110), that lady pronounces a couple of stunted goslings to be “shyre shakyng nought,” i. e. sheer worthless.

v. 1323. perde] i. e. par dieu, verily.

—— ryde or go] See note, p. 125. v. 186.

Page 268. v. 1324. slyght] i. e. contrivance.

v. 1325. hyght] i. e. be called.

v. 1327. wonne] i. e. dwell.

v. 1334. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1338. Cockes armes] i. e. God’s arms: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 1339. whylest] i. e. till.

v. 1341. slee] i. e. slay.

v. 1342. away the mare] See note, p. 162. v. 110.

v. 1345. a rome ... in euery route] i. e. a place in every crowd, assembly.

v. 1347. face and brace] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

v. 1348. fotyth] i. e. footeth.

Page 269. v. 1353. poyntmentys] i. e. appointments.

v. 1356. mykyll praty] i. e. much pretty.

v. 1358. an hoby can make larkys to dare]—to dare, i. e. to be terrified, to tremble,—(it also means—to lurk, lie hid; see note on the poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. v. 271). To dare larks was an expression applied to the catching of larks by terrifying them; and there were several modes of daring them. When the hobby (a small hawk, see note, p. 135. v. 567) was employed for that purpose, the larks lay still in terror till a net was thrown over them.

v. 1360. almesse] i. e. alms.

v. 1363. howe] i. e. ho.

v. 1365. loke] i. e. look.

v. 1368. hardely] i. e. assuredly.

v. 1370. pety brybery] See note on v. 1242. p. 256.

v. 1373. be] i. e. by.

Page 269. v. 1376. trew] i. e. honest.

v. 1378. checke] i. e. taunt: see note on v. 300. p. 240.

v. 1379. weltyth] To welt means—to border: but qy. is weltyth here used for weldyth, i. e. wieldeth, directeth?

v. 1382. sadnesse] i. e. gravity, seriousness, soberness, discreetness.

Page 270. v. 1389. sorte] i. e. set, company.

v. 1390. hokes vnhappy]—hokes, i. e. hooks, a word frequently applied to persons as a term of reproach. “Vnhappy of maners maluays.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xcviii. (Table of Adiect.). So in Jacke Jugelar, n. d.;

and in Heywood’s Dialogue, &c.;

v. 1395. dawe] i. e. simpleton; see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 1396. occupyed] i. e. used, employed; see note, p. 86. v. 52.

v. 1397. reason and skyll] See note on v. 106. p. 238.

v. 1401. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 1405. largesse] i. e. liberality.

v. 1411. Had I wyst] See note, p. 86. v. 40.

Page 271. v. 1416. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1421. Ye haue eten sauce] Compare our author’s Bowge of Courte, v. 72. vol. i. 33.

v. 1422. to] i. e. too.

v. 1425. worshyp] i. e. honour, dignity.

v. 1436. repryuable] i. e. reprovable.

Page 272. v. 1441. menys of to moche] i. e. means of too much.

v. 1442. What, can ye agree thus and appose?]—and appose, i. e. and yet keep questioning, disputing: see note on Colyn Cloute, v. 267.

v. 1443. faute] i. e. fault.

v. 1444. Ye] i. e. Yea.

—— Jacke a thrommys bybyll] See note, p. 189. v. 204.

—— glose] i. e. gloss.

v. 1446. loke you vnder kay] i. e. lock you under key.

v. 1456. Take it in worthe] See note, p. 95. v. 68.

v. 1458. largesse] i. e. liberality.

—— kynde] i. e. nature.

v. 1467. stonde] i. e. stand.

Page 273. v. 1473. fonde] i. e. foolish.

Page 273. v. 1474. loke that ye occupye] i. e. look that ye use; see note, p. 86. v. 52.

v. 1475. For nowe, syrs, I am lyke as a prynce sholde be, &c.] This speech of Magnyfycence is very much in the style of Herod in the old miracle-plays: see, for instance, the Coventry Mysteries, MS. Cott. Vesp. D. viii. fol. 92. sqq.

v. 1477. abandune] i. e. subject.

v. 1481. mene] See note on v. 138. p. 238.

v. 1491. syar] i. e. sire, lord.

v. 1493. ryall trone] i. e. royal throne.

v. 1496. spyll] i. e. destroy.

Page 274. v. 1502. loke] i. e. look.

v. 1504. dynt] i. e. blow.

v. 1505. the cane] Does it mean—the khan?

v. 1507. I set not by] i. e. I value not, regard not.

—— prane] i. e. prawn.

v. 1508. Ne] i. e. Nor.

—— rehersse] i. e. mention.

v. 1513. cache] i. e. couch.

v. 1515. mell] i. e. meddle.

v. 1518. to lowte man be sene] i. e. (if the text be right; see foot-note ad l.) must be seen to bow, pay obeisance.

v. 1520. brymme] i. e. fierce, rugged, bristly.

v. 1521. Basyan the bolde, for all his brybaunce] Basyan is, I suppose, Antoninus Bassianus Caracalla (he is called “Basian” in Robert of Gloucester’s Chron. p. 76. sqq.): brybaunce would seem to mean—plundering (properly, pilfering); see note on v. 1242. p. 256.

v. 1522. Alerycus] i. e. Alaric.

—— the Gothyaunce] i. e. the Goths.

—— swerd] i. e. sword.

v. 1524. maysyd] i. e. bewildered, confounded—stupid.

v. 1525. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 1526. Galba, whom his galantys garde for agaspe] i. e. (I suppose) Galba, whom his gallants (soldiers) made to gasp:—they assassinated him:—see gar in v. 1532.

v. 1527. nother set by] i. e. neither valued, regarded.

v. 1528. Vaspasyan, that bare in his nose a waspe] This passage is explained by the following lines of a poem never printed, entitled The Sege of Jerusalem:

Page 274. v. 1529. agayne] i. e. against.

Page 275. v. 1531. crake] i. e. vaunt, talk bigly.

v. 1532. I shall frounce them on the foretop] To frounce is—to wrinkle, ruffle up, &c. In our author’s Phyllyp Sparowe, v. 1340. vol. i. 92, Charon is described as having a “frownsid fore top;” and in his Colyn Cloute, v. 533. vol. i. 331, “foretop” means simply—head, pate.

—— gar] i. e. make, cause.

v. 1538. auaunce] i. e. advance.

v. 1539. take it in degre] Seems equivalent here to—“take it in gre” (which occurs in v. 2005), i. e. take it kindly: see note, p. 95. v. 68.

v. 1544. ferre] i. e. far.

v. 1547. supprysed] i. e. overpowered, smitten.

v. 1549. Pullyshyd] i. e. Polished.

—— ornacy] i. e. ornate diction.

v. 1551. electe vtteraunce] i. e. choice expression.

v. 1554. feffyd and seasyd] i. e. enfeoffed and seised,—law-terms.

v. 1556. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 1557. comon] i. e. communing, discourse.

v. 1558. Poynt deuyse] See note on v. 852. p. 248.

Page 276. v. 1561. pore] i. e. poor.

v. 1564. semynge] i. e. beseeming, fitting.

v. 1568. maystresse] i. e. mistress.

v. 1569. That quyckly is enuyued with rudyes of the rose] i. e. That is lively envived with hues, or complexion, of the rose. This somewhat pleonastic expression is found again in our author’s Garlande of Laurell;

v. 1570. Inpurtured] i. e. Portrayed, pictured,—adorned.

v. 1571. The streynes of her vaynes] i. e. The strains, runnings of her veins.

Page 276. v. 1571. as asure inde blewe] See note, p. 101. v. 17.

v. 1573. loke] i. e. look.

—— leyre] i. e. complexion, skin.

v. 1576. lusty] i. e. pleasant, desirable.

v. 1578. to brace and to basse] i. e. to embrace and to kiss.

v. 1579. by hym that hell dyd harowe] i. e. by our Saviour: see note, p. 150. v. 1291.

v. 1580. a Phylyp sparowe] See note, p. 121. v. 7.

v. 1581. whylest my hede dyd warke] i. e. until my head did work, ache. “Hedwerke sekenesse. Cephalia.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “Wark, to ache.” Hunter’s Hallam. Gloss. “But I may not stonde, myn hede werches soo.” Morte d’Arthur, B. xxi. c. v. vol. ii. 440. ed. Southey.

v. 1582. hobby for suche a lusty larke] See note on v. 1358. p. 258. The same metaphorical use of this expression occurs in our author’s Colyn Cloute, v. 194. vol. i. 318.

v. 1584. my flesshe wolde be wroken]—wroken, i. e. wreaked, satiated.

v. 1585. consayte] i. e. conceit, fancy.

v. 1586. weryed I wolde be on] i. e. I would worry, eagerly devour: compare our author’s Phyllyp Sparowe, v. 29. vol. i. 52.

v. 1587. Cockes armes] i. e. God’s arms: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 1588. ony] i. e. any.

v. 1589. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1590. to be sped] i. e. to be made successful.

Page 277. v. 1592. make suche one to the call] A metaphor from falconry.

v. 1600. a sawte] i. e. an assault.

v. 1601. prece] i. e. press.

v. 1603. sone] i. e. soon.

v. 1604. intreted] i. e. prevailed on by solicitation.

v. 1606. broken] Seems to mean here—tame, assuage.

v. 1610. consayte] i. e. conceit, conception.

v. 1615. it shall not gretely skyll] i. e. it shall not make much difference, it shall not much signify.

Page 278. v. 1620. face it] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

v. 1621. Frete] i. e. Gnaw, fret.

v. 1626. lust and lykynge] See note, p. 98, v. 23.

Page 278. v. 1633. your gorge] i. e. what you have swallowed, the contents of your stomach: see note, p. 207. v. 87.

v. 1636. wambleth] “I Wamble as ones stomake dothe Ie allecte.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccc. (Table of Verbes). “Nauseo ... to wamble.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d.

v. 1638. wonder] i. e. wondrous.

v. 1640. harte seke] i. e. heart-sick.

—— me lyst] i. e. it pleases me.

v. 1641. coryed] i. e. curried, drubbed.

—— blyst] i. e. wounded,—thumped.

v. 1642. loute] i. e. bow, pay obeisance.

Page 279. v. 1652. at the contemplacyon] See note, p. 214, heading of Epitaph.

v. 1653. pore] i. e. poor.

v. 1657. sone] i. e. soon.

v. 1664. rowne] i. e. whisper: see note, p. 120. v. 513.

v. 1671. dyssayued] i. e. deceived.

v. 1673. wete] i. e. know.

v. 1677. I wyll haue hym rehayted and dyspysed] Our early poets frequently use rehete in the sense of—revive, cheer; a meaning foreign to the present passage. In the Towneley Mysteries, we find “rehett” and “rehete,” pp. 143, 198, which the Gloss. explains “to threaten;” qy. if rightly? In some copies of Chaucer’s Troilus and Creseide, B. iii. 350, is “reheting;” of which, says Tyrwhitt (Gloss. to Cant. Tales), “I can make no sense.” In G. Douglas’s Virgil’s Æneidos, B. xiii. p. 467. l. 53. ed. Rudd., and in the Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy, Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 74, 80. ed. Laing, is “rehatoure,” which has been referred to the French rehair: and perhaps rehayted in our text is—re-hated (Skelton afterwards in this piece, v. 2458, has the uncommon word inhateth).

v. 1679. rest] i. e. remain.

Page 280. v. 1682. supplyed] i. e. supplicated.

v. 1687. But for all that he is lyke to haue a glent] Glent is frequently found in the sense of—glance; but its meaning here, as would seem from the context, is—slip, fall: and in our author’s Garlande of Laurell we find,

Page 280. v. 1688. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1692. What force ye] i. e. What care ye.

v. 1695. loke] i. e. look.

v. 1698. haftynge] See note, p. 107. v. 138.

v. 1702. woke] i. e. week.

v. 1703. sone] i. e. soon.

v. 1706. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 1709. comonynge] i. e. communing, conversing.

v. 1711. sad] i. e. grave, serious, sober, discreet.

Page 281. v. 1713. doute] i. e. fear.

v. 1715. ony] i. e. any.

v. 1718. be lykelyhod] i. e. by likelihood,—as it appeared.

v. 1719. to fode] i. e. to feed with words,—deceive. So in our author’s Bowge of Courte;

v. 1723. reserued] i. e. retained.

v. 1725. set a gnat By] i. e. value at a gnat, care a gnat for.

v. 1738. suche maystryes gan make]—suche maystryes, i. e. such disturbances from the consequence which you assumed: and see note on v. 151. p. 238.

Page 282. v. 1745. lurden] See note on v. 423. p. 242.

v. 1748. haynyarde] A term of reproach which I do not understand: but in our author’s Bowge of Courte, v. 327. vol. i. 42, hayne seems to mean—hind, slave, peasant.

v. 1749. cast] i. e. throw up.

v. 1751. bolle] i. e. bowl.

—— Goddes brede] i. e. God’s bread.

v. 1754. praty] i. e. pretty.

v. 1758. Cockes armes] i. e. God’s arms: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 1759. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 1766. ony] i. e. any.

Page 283. v. 1772. Where as] i. e. Where.

v. 1775. No force] i. e. No matter.

v. 1776. pollynge] i. e. plundering.

v. 1778. parde] i. e. par dieu, verily.

—— largesse] i. e. liberality.

v. 1779. vergesse] i. e. verjuice.

v. 1782. gyse] i. e. guise, fashion.

v. 1786. taken] i. e. committed, consigned.

v. 1802. lowte] i. e. bow, pay obeisance.

Page 284. v. 1813. syth] i. e. since.

v. 1817. acquyte] i. e. requite.

v. 1820. solace] i. e. pleasure.

v. 1821. dyntes] i. e. blows.

v. 1822. Well were] i. e. In good condition were.

v. 1824. halse] }

v. 1825. clepe] }

Both words signify—embrace; with this distinction, that the former means properly—to throw the arms round the neck.

v. 1829. I befole thy brayne pan] i. e. I befool thy skull, head: see note, p. 100. v. 31.

Page 285. v. 1830. By our lakyn] See note on v. 341. p. 240.

v. 1831. My hawke is rammysshe] “Ramage is when a Hawk is wilde, coy, or disdainfull to the man, and contrary to be reclamed.” Latham’s Faulconry (Explan. of Words of Art), 1658.

v. 1833. warne] i. e. prevent.

v. 1835. ronner] i. e. runner.

—— fole] i. e. fool.

v. 1836. iarfawcon] See note, p. 134. v. 557.

v. 1838. ydder] i. e. udder.

v. 1840. slydder] i. e. slippery.

v. 1841. for God auowe] So presently, v. 1851, “I make God auowe:” see note, p. 109. v. 199.

—— chiydder] i. e. shiver.

v. 1842. Thy wordes hange togyder as fethers in the wynde] An expression which occurs again in our author’s Speke, Parrot, v. 295. vol. ii. 14. So too in a comedy (before quoted), The longer thou liuest, the more foole thou art, &c. Newly compiled by W. Wager, n. d.;

v. 1844. carle] i. e. churl.

v. 1848. a losell lede a lurden] i. e. one good-for-nothing fellow lead another: see note, p. 209. v. 138, and note on v. 423 of the present poem, p. 242.

v. 1849. sowter] i. e. shoemaker, cobbler.

v. 1850. Cockes harte] i. e. God’s heart: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 1853. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 1854. I shall gyue you a gaude of a goslynge that I gaue] Gaud is found in the sense of—jest, trick, toy, &c.: but the line (perhaps corrupted) is beyond my comprehension.

v. 1856. reue] i. e. steward, bailiff.

v. 1858. syke] i. e. such.

Page 285. v. 1859. Sadylgose] i. e. Saddle-goose.

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

Page 286. v. 1860. garre] i. e. make, cause.

v. 1862. bytter] i. e. bittern.

v. 1864. to grame] i. e. to be angry,—or perhaps to grieve; the word being found in both senses.

v. 1865. snyte] i. e. snipe.

v. 1868. loke] i. e. look.

v. 1871. Ye] i. e. Yea.

—— iapes] i. e. jests, jokes.

v. 1876. sone] i. e. soon.

v. 1882. mo] i. e. more.

v. 1886. payntyd] See note, p. 176. v. 583.

v. 1887. demenour] i. e. director: see note, p. 134. v. 553.

Page 287. v. 1891. largesse] i. e. liberality.

v. 1892. fondnesse] i. e. folly.

v. 1896. rode] i. e. rood, cross: see note, p. 206. v. 69.

v. 1898. broder] i. e. brother.

v. 1899. lokys] i. e. looks.

v. 1900. clokys] i. e. claws—clutches; see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v. Cleuck.

v. 1903. quyte] i. e. requite.

v. 1904. velyarde] i. e. old man, dotard.

—— dynt] i. e. blow.

v. 1906. losell] See note, p. 209. v. 138.

v. 1908. hyght] i. e. am called.

v. 1910. rughly] i. e. roughly.

v. 1912. lust] i. e. pleasure, liking.

v. 1913. lurden] See note on v. 423. p. 242.

v. 1915. set by hym a flye] i. e. value him at a fly, care a fly for him.

v. 1916. brace] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

v. 1917. loke] i. e. look.

v. 1918. to] i. e. too.

Page 288. v. 1928. carbuckyls] i. e. carbuncles.

v. 1930. lyppers] i. e. lepers.

v. 1932. Some with the marmoll to halte I them make]—marmoll, i. e. old sore, ulcer, gangrene. “Marmoll a sore lovp.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xlvii. (Table of Subst.). Skelton recollected Chaucer;

on which passage see Tyrwhitt’s note.

Page 288. v. 1934. brennynge] i. e. burning.

v. 1936. walter] i. e. tumble, roll. “I Walter I tumble, Ie me voystre.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccc. (Table of Verbes).

v. 1939. sle] i. e. slay.

v. 1945. Lydderyns] i. e. Lydder, wicked, persons: so in our author’s Garlande of Laurell, “Some lidderons, some losels,” &c. v. 188. vol. i., 369.

—— set by] i. e. value, regard.

Page 289. v. 1958. franesy] i. e. frensy.

v. 1960. worshyp] i. e. honour, dignity.

v. 1961. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 1962. loke] i. e. look.

v. 1966. sadly] i. e. gravely, seriously, soberly, discreetly.

v. 1967. preposytour] i. e. a scholar appointed by the master to overlook the rest. “I am preposyter of my boke. Duco classem.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. R viii. ed. 1530.

v. 1968. theyr wanton vagys]—vagys, i. e. vagaries, strayings. Richardson in his Dict. gives an example of this substantive (vagues) from Holinshed.

v. 1977. mo] i. e. more.

v. 1979. Howe] i. e. Ho.

v. 1980. lore] i. e. teaching.

v. 1984. vnlykynge] i. e. in poor condition of body. “The strength and lustinesse, or well lykyng of my body.” Palsgrave’s Acolastus, 1540. sig. U iiii. “I am withered,” says Falstaff, “like an old apple-John. Well, I’ll repent, and that suddenly, while I am in some liking.” Shakespeare’s Henry IV. Part i. act iii. sc. 3.

Page 290. v. 1989. enuy] i. e. ill-will, grudge.

v. 1993. golde and fe] See note, p. 234. v. 267.

v. 1995. thought] See note, p. 101. v. 10.

v. 2004. syth] i. e. since.

—— no nother] A not unfrequent form in our early writers,—i. e. none other.

v. 2005. take it in gre] i. e. take it kindly: see note, p. 95, v. 68.

v. 2006. a noble estate] i. e. a person of noble estate or rank.

v. 2014. Ye] i. e. Yea.

Page 291. v. 2026. loke] i. e. look.

v. 2034. cawdels] According to the custom of great persons. So in the ballad of Glasgerion;

Page 291. v. 2035. mamockes] “Mammocks, leavings, wasted fragments.” Forby’s Vocab. of East Anglia.

v. 2037. fayne] i. e. glad.

v. 2038. pomped] In our text at least is equivalent to—pampered.

v. 2040. to be drawe] i. e. to be drawn over, covered.

v. 2042. shertes of Raynes] i. e. shirts made of the delicate species of linen manufactured at Rennes in Brittany.

v. 2044. happed] i. e. covered.

Page 292. v. 2054. sykernesse] i. e. security, sureness.

v. 2061. plete] i. e. plead.

v. 2064. lyther] i. e. bad,—inactive.

v. 2066. leuer] i. e. more willingly.

v. 2070. they rynne to in manus tuas queche]—rynne, i. e. run,—they quickly come to be hanged, when they say In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum.

v. 2072. mary] i. e. by the Virgin Mary.

—— mote] i. e. may.

v. 2073. too] i. e. toe.

v. 2077. rydlesse] In v. 2445 is “redlesse,” which properly means—devoid of counsel: but Skelton seems to use both forms in the sense of—unavailing.

v. 2080. bloo] i. e. livid: see note, p. 103. v. 3.

Page 293. v. 2093. I garde her gaspe, I garde her gle]—garde, i. e. made, caused: gle, i. e., perhaps, squint; see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v. Gley.

v. 2094. daunce on the le] A fragment, it would seem, of some song: le, i. e. lea.

v. 2095. bassed] i. e. kissed.

v. 2096. the bote of all my bale] i. e. the remedy or help of all my evil or sorrow.

v. 2097. farre fet] i. e. far-fetched.

v. 2098. louesome] i. e. lovely one.

Page 293. v. 2098. let] i. e. leave, desist.

v. 2100. patlet]—or partlet,—i. e. a sort of ruff, or rather neck-kerchief: see Strutt’s Dress and Habits, &c. ii. 368.

v. 2104. lust and lykynge] See note, p. 98. v. 23.

v. 2106. me lyst] i. e. pleases me.

Page 294. v. 2113. hardely] i. e. assuredly.

v. 2114. to moche] i. e. too much.

v. 2115. not worth an hawe] A common expression in our early poetry;

v. 2116. to free of the dawe] Equivalent, I suppose, to—too much fooling: see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 2117. sad] See note on v. 1966. p. 267.

v. 2121. to to out of harre] See notes on v. 881. p. 249, and v. 921. p. 250.

v. 2123. iettynge] i. e. strutting: see note, p. 94. v. 43.

—— iapes] i. e. jests, jokes.

v. 2124. mowynge] i. e. making mouths, grimacing.

—— iackenapes] i. e. monkey.

v. 2132. brothell] Was formerly applied as a term of reproach to the worthless of either sex:

v. 2135. Cockes armes] i. e. God’s arms: see note on v. 518, p. 243.

v. 2138. lurden] See note on v. 423. p. 242.

v. 2141. largesse] i. e. liberality.

v. 2143. conuenyent] i. e. fit, suitable.

Page 295. v. 2148. poddynge prycke] i. e. skewer that fastens the pudding-bag.

v. 2150. pot sharde] i. e. potsherd.

v. 2151. the spence of a noble] i. e. the expense or spending of a noble,—the gold coin so called.

v. 2152. c. s. i. e. a hundred shillings.

v. 2155. occupyed] Though our author, according to his occasionally pleonastic style, has in the next line but one, “occupyed and vsyd,” the words are synonymous: see note, p. 86. v. 52.

v. 2156. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 2159. retchlesse] i. e. reckless.

Page 285. v. 2162. rynne] i. e. run.

v. 2164. it shall not gretly skyll] See note on v. 1615. p. 262.

v. 2165. spyll] i. e. destroy.

v. 2166. some fall prechynge at the Toure Hyll] So in Thenterlude of Youth, n. d.;

v. 2168. nother they set by] i. e. neither they value, regard.

v. 2171. lusty to loke on] i. e. pleasant to look on.

v. 2172. nonnes] i. e. nuns.

—— ryn] i. e. run.

v. 2173. Freers] i. e. Friars.

—— fayne] i. e. glad, joyful.

v. 2177. rechate] See note, p. 234. v. 215.

Page 296. v. 2186. brast] i. e. burst.

v. 2187. spewe and cast] One of Skelton’s pleonasms.

v. 2188. gotted ... to thy share]—gotted, i. e. gotten.

v. 2193. ye] i. e. yea.

v. 2194. to wed] i. e. for a pawn, pledge.

v. 2195. a daggeswane] i. e. a rough sort of coverlet. “Dagswayne. Lodex.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. “My bedde is couered with a daggeswayne and a quylte ... gausape ...”—“Some daggeswaynes haue longe thrummes & iagges on bothe sydes: some but on one.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. g iii. ed. 1530.

—— ony] i. e. any.

v. 2196. metely well] “Metely: Moyennement. Assez,” &c. Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxliii. (Table of Aduerbes). “He is metely lerned. Mediocriter doctus est.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. R viii. ed. 1530.

v. 2197. dele] i. e. part, bit.

v. 2198. in the deuyls date] See note, p. 116. v. 375.

v. 2201. the messe] i. e. the Mass.

Page 297. v. 2204. hose] i. e. breeches.

v. 2207. skelpe] i. e. slap, strike: see Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang.

v. 2208. loke] i. e. look.

v. 2209. Cockes bones] i. e. God’s bones: see note on v. 518. p. 243.

—— blysse] See note on v. 1641. p. 263.

v. 2210. dynge the deuyll]—dynge, i. e. strike, knock. So again in our author’s poem Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c.;

Compare The Droichis Part of the Play, attributed to Dunbar;

Page 297. v. 2210. holde] i. e. holden, held.

v. 2211. rede] i. e. advice.

v. 2214. wrynge thy be in a brake] Some cant expression: brake, see note, p. 168. v. 324, and note on Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 980.

v. 2215. dawe] i. e. simpleton: see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 2216. fawchyn] i. e. cut.

v. 2217. cauell] “Kevil, Kephyl, A horse, contemptuously applied to a person, ‘thou girt kevil.’” The Dialect of Craven, &c. Compare Lydgate’s verses, entitled in the Catalogue, Advices for people to keep a guard over their tongues;

v. 2218. iauell] “Iauell. Ioppus.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499. Of this common term of contempt (which Skelton uses in other passages) the meaning and etymology are uncertain. Todd (Johnson’s Dict. in v.) explains it “A wandering or dirty fellow;” shews that it is sometimes written jabel; and would derive it from the verb, javel, jable, or jarble, to bemire, to bedew. Nares (Gloss. in v.) refers it to the French javelle, which sometimes means “a faggot of brush-wood or other worthless materials.” The compiler of the Gloss. to The Towneley Mysteries (under Hawvelle) considers it equivalent to—jabberer.

Page 298. v. 2223. iche] i. e. I.

v. 2224. Mary] i. e. By the Virgin Mary.

v. 2229. all one] i. e. all agreed.

v. 2233. rode] i. e. road, cross: see note, p. 206. v. 69.

v. 2234. blode] i. e. blood.

v. 2235. By our lakyn] See note on v. 341. p. 240.

v. 2242. acomberyd] i. e. encumbered, troubled.

v. 2243. Goddys fote] i. e. God’s foot.

v. 2244. facyd] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

v. 2246. condycyons] See note, p. 183. v. 12.

Page 299. v. 2248. bracyd] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

v. 2249. defaute] i. e. default, defect.

v. 2250. to haute] i. e. too haughty.

v. 2252. pratyer] i. e. prettier.

v. 2258. gardeuyaunce] In a note on Dunbar’s Freir of Tungland, Lord Hailes observes that gardyvians is “literally garde de viande, or cupboard; but there it implies his cabinet;” and Mr. D. Laing adds, “rather, a portable cabinet.” Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 243. Skelton appears to use the word in the sense of—trunk: and Palsgrave has “Gardeuyans bahus.” Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xxxv. (Table of Subst.)

Page 299. v. 2259. bowget] i. e. budget.

v. 2260. male] i. e. bag, wallet.

v. 2262. Your trymynge and tramynge by me must be tangyd] The reader will hardly expect that I should attempt any precise explanation of this line.

v. 2264. When we with Magnyfycence goodys made cheuysaunce]—cheuysaunce, i. e. booty: see note, p. 107. v. 100. Compare Gower;

v. 2265. wengaunce] i. e. vengeance.

v. 2266. banne and wary] “I warrye, I banne or curse, Ie mauldis.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccci. (Table of Verbes). Barclay is even more pleonastic than Skelton;

v. 2268. Cockys bonys] i. e. God’s bones; see note on v. 518. p. 243.

v. 2270. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 2275. gaure] i. e. stare: see Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales. Yet Palsgrave has “I Gaure I krye, Ie hue. Howe he gaureth after his hauke: Cōment il heue apres son oyseau.” Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccxliiii. (Table of Verbes).

Page 300. v. 2276. yll hayle] See note, p. 176. v. 617.

v. 2283. the gowte and the gyn] If gyn means (as the context seems to prove) some bodily ailment, I know not what it is.

v. 2287. murre] i. e. severe cold with hoarseness.

—— pose] i. e. rheum in the head.

v. 2288. requiem æternam groweth forth of his nose] Heywood has a similar expression;

And Cotgrave; “Chishe-face ... one out of whose nose hunger drops.” Dict.

v. 2291. the halfe strete] On the Bank-side, Southwark,—where the stews were: it is mentioned in the following curious passage of Cocke Lorelles bote, n. d. (where the “wynde fro wynchester” alludes to the temporary suppression of the Southwark stews at the intercession of the Bishop of Winchester);

Page 300. v. 2293. motton] Long after Skelton’s time, as the readers of our early dramatists will recollect, mutton was a favourite cant term for a prostitute.

v. 2294. Ye ... to] i. e. Yea ... too.

v. 2295. queysy mete] “Quaisy as meate or drike is, dangereux.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xciii. (Table of Adiect.). Compare Jyl of Braintfords Testament, n. d.;

Page 300. v. 2297. In fay] i. e. In faith.

—— froty] Is frequently, as here, used by our early writers for—forty.

v. 2303. at all assayes] See note on v. 433. p. 242.

Page 301. v. 2311. sleeth] i. e. slayeth.

v. 2315. bronde] i. e. brand.

v. 2316. stonde] i. e. stand.

v. 2319. lewdly] i. e. vilely, basely (but here it seems to be used as an adjective).

v. 2320. to] i. e. too.

v. 2322. fer] i. e. far.

v. 2324. loke] i. e. look.

v. 2330. agayne] i. e. against.

Page 302. v. 2332. wyte] i. e. blame.

v. 2333. rede] i. e. counsel.

v. 2335. Ye] i. e. Yea.

—— ryd thy selfe] i. e. set free thyself,—despatch thyself.

v. 2336. to] i. e. too.

v. 2340. honge] i. e. hang.

v. 2342. tonge] i. e. thong.

v. 2343. throte bole] i. e. throat-bowl,—protuberance of the throat. “Throte gole or throte bole, neu de la gorge, gosier.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxx. (Table of Subst.). In Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d. is “Epiglotum, a throte bolle.”—“It is not impossible,” says Warton, alluding to this passage, “that Despare [Myschefe] offering the knife and the halter, might give a distant hint to Spenser.” Hist. of E. P. (Em. and Ad. to p. 363 of vol. ii.) ed. 4to. See The Faerie Queene, i. ix. 50.

—— slee] i. e. slay.

v. 2351. to] i. e. too.

v. 2352. Out, harowe]—harowe (variously spelt) is common in our early poetry as an exclamation of alarm or sudden distress, or an outcry for help. “Interiectyons of outkrye: Haro. as Haro alarme trahy trahy.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530, last folio. On the origin of the word see Du Cange’s Gloss. in vv. Haro, Haroep; Tyrwhitt’s note on v. 3286 of Chaucer’s Cant. Tales; Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v. Harro; and Roquefort’s Gloss. to La Lang. Rom. in v. Harau.

—— hyll] i. e. hell.

v. 2353. combred] i. e. encumbered, troubled.

v. 2354. sloo] i. e. slay.

—— nature and kynde] A pleonastic expression.

Page 303. v. 2357. sautes] i. e. assaults.

v. 2361. soner] i. e. sooner.

v. 2362. luge] i. e. (I suppose) lodge, abode.

v. 2365. wanhope] i. e. want of hope,—despair. “Desperatio. wanhope.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d. “Wanhope desespoir.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxxiii. (Table of Subst.). In some of our early writers, however, we find a distinction made between wanhope and despair.

v. 2370. dysease] i. e. uneasiness, pain.

v. 2373. ony] i. e. any.

v. 2375. ne] i. e. nor.

v. 2383. lectuary] i. e. electuary.

v. 2387. gommes goostly] i. e. gums ghostly, spiritual.

—— herte] i. e. heart.

v. 2388. To thanke God of his sonde]—his sonde, i. e. his sending,—his providential dispensation.

Page 304. v. 2392. fote] i. e. foot.

v. 2394. mode] i. e. mood.

v. 2398. dyscryue] Signifies—describe; but in the present passage it would seem to mean—discover, search, try.

v. 2406. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 2411. sone] i. e. soon.

Page 305. v. 2430. apayed] i. e. satisfied, pleased.

v. 2433. abylyment] i. e. habiliment.

v. 2434. aduysement] i. e. consideration, heed.

v. 2435. confyrmable] i. e. conformable.

v. 2444. to] i. e. too.

v. 2445. redlesse] See note on v. 2077. p. 268.

v. 2449. to accompte you the contynewe of my consayte] i. e. to tell you the continuation, the rest, of my conceit, conception.

Page 306. v. 2455. sad] See note on v. 1711. p. 264.

v. 2457. that is no nay] i. e. that is not to be denied.

v. 2458. inhateth] Skelton’s fondness for compound words has been already noticed (see note, p. 105. v. 31); and here most probably inhateth was not intended to convey a stronger meaning than—hateth.

—— rennynge] i. e. running.

v. 2460. ne can] i. e. can not.

v. 2465. largesse] i. e. liberality.

v. 2467. thorowly ingrosed] i. e. (as the context would seem to shew) fully written out.

v. 2468. Pountes] i. e. Pontoise.

Page 306. v. 2469. hyght] i. e. is called.

v. 2474. to] i. e. too.

Page 307. v. 2479. ouerthrow] i. e. overthrown.

v. 2481. Ye] i. e. Yea.

v. 2485. hafters] See note, p. 107. v. 138.

—— forfende] i. e. forbid, prohibit.

v. 2493. sentence] i. e. meaning.

v. 2494. corage] i. e. heart, affection.

—— flyt] i. e. remove.

v. 2499. worshyp] i. e. honour, dignity.

v. 2500. sadnesse] See note on v. 1382. p. 259.

Page 308. v. 2503. I wyll refrayne you ferther, or we flyt] i. e. I will question you farther before we remove (refrayne being here, it would seem, according to Skelton’s use of such compounds, equivalent to the simple, and not uncommon word,—frayne).

v. 2506. processe] i. e. relation, discourse: see notes, p. 143. v. 735. p. 146. v. 969. p. 194. v. 157, &c.

v. 2507. Syth] i. e. Since.

—— erectyd] See note on v. 95. p. 237.

v. 2508. aforse me] i. e. exert myself, do my endeavour.

v. 2510. warkys] i. e. works.

v. 2513. largesse] i. e. liberality.

—— to] i. e. too.

v. 2517. the nygarde nor the chyncherde] Synonymous terms. “Chynche or chynchare. Preparcus.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 2518. negarship] i. e. niggardship.

v. 2522. fumously adresse you with magnanymyte] i. e. hotly, vigorously provide, furnish yourself with, &c.

v. 2525. affyaunce] i. e. trust.

v. 2534. this processe] i. e. this drama of Magnyfycence: (so presently, “this interlude” v. 2548, “this treatyse” v. 2562, “this mater” v. 2576:) see note on v. 2506, above.

Page 309. v. 2539. seke[r]nesse] i. e. security, sureness.

v. 2541. lawe] i. e. low; as in v. 190.

v. 2544. leue] i. e. willing.

v. 2550. auaunsyd] i. e. advanced.

v. 2557. lacke] i. e. fault, blame.

v. 2563. comberyd] i. e. encumbered, troubled.

Page 310. v. 2573. maysterfest] i. e. master-fast.

v. 2577. Precely purposyd vnder pretence of play]—Precely, i. e. Pressly, seems to mean here—seriously (rather than—expressly).

Page 310. v. 2583. the terestre rechery] If “rechery” be the right reading, I know not what it means. Qy. “trechery?” as before, v. 2046,

—— flode] i. e. flood.

v. 2585. Ensordyd] Could only, I presume, mean—defiled: but qy., as the context seems to require, “Ensorbyd,” i. e. sucked in, swallowed?

—— wawys] i. e. waves.

—— wode] i. e. mad, raging.

v. 2586. brast] i. e. burst,—break.

v. 2588. hym] Must be an error of the press for “hymselfe;” compare v. 2581.

v. 2590. syttynge] i. e. proper, becoming.

v. 2591. ryalte] i. e. royalty.

v. 2593. indeuer] i. e. endure, continue, dwell.

This powerful and original poem must have been circulated in MS., probably for a considerable time, before it was given to the press; for from a passage towards the conclusion, v. 1239, we learn that those against whom its satire was directed would not “suffer it to be printed.” In Colyn Cloute Skelton appears to have commenced his attacks on Wolsey.

“I could never conceive, Mr. Warton, to what Drayton alludes, in the preface to his Eclogues, where he says, that ‘the Colin Clout of Scogan, under Henry the seventh, is pretty.’ He is speaking of pastoral poetry; and adds, that ‘Barklays ship of fools hath twenty wiser in it.’ You somewhere say [Hist. of E. P. iii. 76, note, ed. 4to], ‘he must mean Skelton;’ but what PASTORAL did HE write?” Ritson’s Obs. on Warton’s Hist. of E. P., p. 20 (note); see too his Bibl. Poet., p. 99. I believe that Drayton did mean Skelton. Colyn Cloute is surely as much a pastoral as Barclay’s Ship of Fooles,—as much perhaps as even Barclay’s Egloges.

—— Quis consurget mecum, &c.] Vulg. Psal. xciii. 16, where “Quis consurget mihi,” &c.

—— Nemo, Domine] Id. Joan. viii. 11.

Page 311. v. 1.

So in Gentylnes and Nobylyte, n. d. (attributed without grounds to Heywood);

Page 311. v. 9. bokes] i. e. books.

Page 312. v. 20. He pryeth and he peketh] See note, p. 244. v. 667. So Gascoigne;

v. 28. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 29. scole] i. e. school.

v. 30. a thre foted stole] i. e. a three-footed stool.

v. 36. The deuyll, they say, is dede] Heywood has six Epigrams on this proverbial expression,—Workes, sig. N 2. ed. 1598. Ray gives, “Heigh ho, the Devil is dead.” Proverbs, p. 55. ed. 1768.

Page 313, v. 51. connyng bagge] i. e. bag, store, of knowledge or learning.

v. 52. hagge] See note, p. 99. v. 19.

v. 53. though my ryme be ragged] So Sir D. Lyndsay; “my rural raggit vers.” Prol. to Monarchie,—Works, ii. 330. ed. Chalmers; and Spenser, “My ragged rimes.” F. Queene, i. xii. 23.

v. 54. iagged] See note, p. 163. v. 124.

v. 56. moughte eaten] i. e. moth-eaten.

v. 66. blother] i. e. gabble.

v. 67. The tone agayng] i. e. The one against.

v. 68. shoder] i. e. shudder.

v. 69. hoder moder] i. e. hugger-mugger.

Page 314. v. 70. faute] i. e. fault.

v. 71. ben so haut] i. e. be so haughty.

v. 72. loke] i. e. look.

v. 77. sely] i. e. silly, simple, harmless.

v. 79. wull] i. e. wool.

v. 80. Vnethes] i. e. Scarcely.

v. 82. connynge] i. e. knowledge, learning.

v. 83, A glommynge] i. e. A glumming, a looking gloomy, sour.

—— a mummynge] Compare our author elsewhere;

v. 84. iape] i. e. jest, joke.

v. 87. hole] i. e. whole.

Page 314. v. 89. the forked cap] i. e. the mitre.

v. 90. to lewd] i. e. too wicked, vile.

v. 91. all beshrewd] i. e. altogether cursed.

v. 99. For other mennes skyll]—skyll, i. e. reason: the line seems to mean—Notwithstanding other men’s reasons.

Page 315. v. 107. solfa so alamyre]—alamire is the lowest note but one in Guido Aretine’s scale of music: Gayton, in his Notes upon Don Quixote, 1654, says (metaphorically) that Maritornes “plaid her part so wel, that she run through all the keyes from A-la-mi-re to double Gammut,” &c. p. 83.

v. 108. premenyre] i. e. præmunire.

v. 115. heedes] i. e. heads.

v. 119. warke] i. e. work.

Page 316. v. 137.

—— sklender connyng, i. e. slender knowledge, learning: wonnyng, i. e. dwelling. The meaning of the passage is—a great part of this is owing to their laziness, but it is chiefly to be attributed to their ignorance, &c.

Page 317. v. 151. werkes] i. e. works.

v. 152. Ure] i. e. Urias.

v. 154. werryn] i. e. hinder, ward off.

v. 159. heery] i. e. hairy.

v. 160. Set nought by] i. e. Value not.

—— ne] i. e. nor.

v. 162. mell] i. e. meddle.

v. 163.

So Heywood;

See Pierce Plowman, where one of the rats proposes that a bell should be hung about the cat’s neck. Sig. A iii. ed. 1561; and Ray’s Proverbs, p. 85. ed. 1768.

Page 317. v. 166. to play deuz decke] An allusion, I suppose, to some game.

v. 167. for the becke] i. e. to obey the nod of command.

v. 169. Moche herted] i. e. Much hearted.

v. 178. combred] i. e. encumbered.

Page 318. v. 181. Sho the mockysshe mare] So in our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte;

v. 182. wynche and keke] i. e. wince and kick.

v. 183. not worth a leke] An expression not uncommon in our early poetry:

v. 190.

—appare, i. e. impair. The meaning of this passage,—in which (as I have already noted ad loc.) it seems probable from a comparison of the MS. and the printed copies, that Skelton used the forms “Seire” and “appeire,”—is—Amend when ye may, for it is said by every body, even as far as Mount Seir, that ye cannot be worse than ye are. The Latin words are a quotation from the Vulgate: “Et circuit de Baala contra occidentem, usque ad montem Seir.” Josue, xv. 10.

v. 194. hauke on hobby larkes] See notes, p. 258. v. 1358. p. 262. v. 1582.

v. 195. warkes] i. e. works.

v. 198. The gray gose for to sho] Hoccleve uses this proverbial expression;

and Heywood has the following Epigram;

See also Davies’s Scourge of Follie (Prouerbs), n. d. p. 175.

Page 319. v. 209. pranes] i. e. prawns.

v. 211. werynge] i. e. wearing.

v. 213. ne peason] i. e. nor peas.

v. 214. loke to be let lose] i. e. look to be let loose.

v. 215. gose] i. e. goose.

v. 216.

Equivalent to—You not digesting any thing except, &c.: see notes, p. 207. v. 78. and v. 87.

v. 218. a stewed cocke] Compare the following passage in the Interlude of the iiii Elementes, n. d.;

v. 219.

Compare Heywood’s Dialogue, &c.;

In our author’s Garlande of Laurell we find,

which is cited (Dict. in v. Surfel) by Richardson, who, after quoting from Gifford that “To surphule or surfel the cheeks, is to wash them with mercurial or sulphur water,” &c., adds that Gifford’s “explanation does not extend to the passage from Skelton.” The fact seems to be that Skelton uses surfle for purfle, i. e. border, embroider: and I may notice that Brathwait, on the other hand, seems to employ purfle for surfle;

Page 319. v. 222.

Sitientes is the first word of the Introit of the Mass for Passion Sunday (“Sitientes, venite ad aquas, dicit Dominus,” &c., Isaiah lv. 1). For this note I am indebted to W. Dyce, Esq., who further observes that Sitientes Saturday was of old, and is now abroad, the Saturday before Passion Sunday.

Page 320. v. 233. renne they in euery stede] i. e. run they in every place.

v. 234. nolles] i. e. heads.

v. 239. Pystle] i. e. Epistle.

v. 243. prymes and houres] i. e. the devotions so named.

v. 248. vagabundus] i. e. vagabonds.

v. 251. ale stake] i. e. stake set up before an ale-house by way of sign.

v. 252. welcome hake and make] An expression which I have not elsewhere met with. Ray gives among North Country words, “To hake, To sneak, or loiter:” in Hunter’s Hallam. Gloss. is “A haking fellow, an idle loiterer;” and in a song cited by Mr. J. P. Collier (Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poet., ii. 472) from a MS. drama called Misogonus by T. Richards, we find,—

—make is common in the sense of—mate, companion.

Page 321. v. 262. stylla] i. e. still.

v. 263. wylla] i. e. will.

v. 264. pekes] See note, p. 129. v. 409.

v. 266. faute] i. e. fault.

v. 267. apposed] i. e. questioned, examined. “He was apposed, or examyned of his byleue. De religione appellatus est.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. D ii. ed. 1530.

v. 269. connyng] i. e. knowledge, learning.

Page 322. v. 284. Tom a thrum] See note, p. 189. v. 204.

v. 293.

—appose seems to be used in a different sense from that in which we have just had it (v. 267), and to be equivalent to—procure: crose, i. e. crosier.

Page 322. v. 299. a hermoniake] A term I am unable to explain.

v. 303. Ouer] i. e. Besides.

—— the foresayd laye] i. e. the above-mentioned laity.

v. 305. anker] i. e. anchorite.

v. 310.

Perhaps, as Warton thinks (note on Hist. of E. P., ii. 347. ed. 4to), an allusion to Wolsey: afterwards in this poem, the Cardinal appears to be pointed at more plainly.

Page 323. v. 312. purple and paule] An expression which frequently occurs, more particularly in ballad-poetry (considered by Percy and others as equivalent to—purple robe): paule, i. e. pall, rich or fine cloth.

v. 316. Raynes] See note, p. 268. v. 2042.

v. 317. morowes mylke] i. e. morning’s milk.

v. 318. tabertes] Tabards,—jackets or coats, without sleeves, close before and behind, and open at the sides, are still worn by heralds: but those mentioned in the text were longer,—a sort of riding-cloaks. “Tabard a garmêt mâteau.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxviii. (Table of Subst.). And see Du Cange’s Gloss. in v. Tabartum; Roquefort’s Gloss. in v. Tabar; and Strutt’s Dress and Habits, &c. ii. 301.

v. 319. Theyr styrops of myxt gold begared]—begared, or begarded, means—faced, bordered,—adorned. The line, I suspect, (see various readings ad l.) ought to stand,—

v. 321. moyles] i. e. mules.

v. 323.

So afterwards, v. 857, the same terms are used to signify the labouring poor of both sexes. Jacke of the Noke, i. e. (I suppose) Jack of the Nook: see “Nocata terræ” in Cowel’s Law Dictionary, &c. ed. 1727.

v. 325. pore] i. e. poor.

v. 331. farly] i. e. strange.

v. 332. iangle] i. e. babble, chatter.

v. 335. all to-mangle] See note, p. 100. v. 32.

Page 324. v. 337. ascrye] i. e. call out against: see notes, p. 145. v. 903. p. 152. v. 1358.

v. 341. Ware] i. e. Were. (MS. “Was:” see note ad loc.)

v. 342. Poules] i. e. Paul’s.

Page 324. v. 346. trones] i. e. thrones.

v. 347. Lyke prynces aquilonis] i. e. Like so many Lucifers.

v. 352. For prestes and for lones]—prestes, i. e. sums in advance. “Prest and loan,” Sir H. Nicolas observes to me, “seem to have been used in nearly, if not precisely, the same sense in the 16th century. Perhaps, strictly, prest meant a compulsory advance. In fiscal records it has much the meaning of charge or imprest.”

v. 356. tonge tayde] i. e. tongue-tied.

v. 360. shrewd] i. e. evil.

v. 362. poollynge] i. e. polling, plundering.

Page 325. v. 365. Ye make monkes to haue the culerage, &c.] A passage which I do not understand: but culerage perhaps has here the meaning which it conveys as the name of an herb, “Arse-smart. Cul-rage.” Cotgrave’s Dict.

v. 373. ouerthwarted] Has been explained before (p. 211. v. 230)—cavilled, wrangled: but here it seems to mean—crossly, perversely opposed or controlled.

v. 376. fayne] i. e. glad.

v. 379. corum] i. e. quorum.

v. 388. apostataas] See note, p. 212. v. 290.

Page 326. v. 391. sely nonnes] i. e. silly, simple, harmless nuns.

v. 392. ronnes] i. e. runs.

v. 396. quere] i. e. quire.

v. 397. heuy chere] “Heavy chear, Tristitia, Mœstitia.” Cole’s Dict.

v. 399. fucke sayles] So in a copy of verses attributed to Dunbar;

and in another by Sir R. Maitland;

Focke, a foresail, German. In the Expenses of Sir John Howard, first Duke of Norfolk, we find, “Item, the same day my mastyr paid to the said Clayson, for a fuk maste for the said kervelle, iijs. iiijd.” Manners and Household Expenses of England, &c., p. 206. ed. Roxb.

v. 401. shales] See note, p. 97. v. 19.

v. 403. The lay fee people] i. e. the laity: see note, p. 234. v. 267.

v. 404. fawte] i. e. fault.

v. 409. Boke and chalys] i. e. Book and chalice.

Page 327. v. 417. melles] i. e. meddles.

v. 418. tytyuelles] This word occurs not unfrequently, and with some variety of spelling, in our early writers. So Lydgate;

and Heywood;

Some have considered the word as derived from the Latin, titivilitium, a thing of no worth. Jamieson “suspects that it is a personal designation,” Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v. Tutivillaris. In Juditium, Towneley Mysteries, p. 310, Tutivillus is a fiend; and in the Moral Play of Mankind he represents the sin of the flesh, Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poet., ii. 297, by Mr. J.P. Collier, who says (ii. 223) that “the name afterwards came to mean any person with evil propensities,” and refers to the comedy of Rauf Royster Doyster, Skelton’s Works, and the Enterlude of Thersytes: when he objected to the derivation of the word from titivilitium and proposed “the more simple etymology, totus and vilis,” he was probably not aware that some writers (wrongly) “totivillitium volunt, quasi totum vile:” see Gronovius’s note on the Casina of Plautus, ii. 5, 39. ed. Var.

Page 327. v. 421. Of an abbay ye make a graunge] A proverbial expression.

“To bring an Abbey to a Grange.” Ray’s Proverbs, p. 174. ed. 1768.

v. 424. beade rolles] i. e. prayers,—properly, lists of those to be prayed for.

v. 429.

—mell, i. e. meddle. So Dunbar;

v. 434. reporte me] i. e. refer.

v. 440. the lay fee] i. e. the laity: see note, p. 234. v. 267.

Page 328. v. 447.

From the Vulgate. “Ibunt in splendore fulgurantis hastæ tuæ.” Habac. iii. 11. “Et micantis gladii, et fulgurantis hastæ.” Nahum, iii. 3.

v. 456. eysell] i. e. vinegar.

v. 458. ypocras] Was a favourite medicated drink, composed of wine (usually red), with spices and sugar. It is generally supposed to have been so named from Hippocrates (often contracted, as in our author’s Garlande of Laurell, v. 1426. vol. i. 417, to “Ipocras”); perhaps because it was strained,—the woollen bag used by apothecaries to strain syrups and decoctions for clarification being termed Hippocrates’s sleeve.

Page 328. v. 459. Let the cat wynke] See note, p. 168. v. 305.

v. 460. Iche wot] Seems to mean here—Each knows (not, I know); and therefore in the remainder of the line the reading of Kele’s ed., “yche,” ought not to have been rejected.

v. 467. theologys] i. e. theologians.

v. 468. astrologys] i. e. astrologers.

Page 329. v. 469. Ptholome] See note, p. 133. v. 503.

v. 474. pretendynge] Equivalent to—portending.

Here Skelton seems to allude to Wolsey; and from these lines (called in the Lansdown MS., see note ad loc., “The profecy of Skelton”) perhaps originated the story of our poet having prophesied the downfal of the Cardinal.

v. 476. trone] i. e. throne.

v. 479. euerychone] i. e. every one.

Page 330. v. 489. bruted] i. e. reported, talked of.

v. 492. wrest vp] i. e. screw up: see note, p. 238. v. 137.

v. 493. twynkyng] i. e. tinking, tinkling.

v. 498. the lay fee] i. e. the laity: see note, p. 234. v. 267.

v. 504. to] i. e. too.

v. 515. depraue] i. e. vilify, defame.

Page 331. v. 523. resydeuacyon] i. e. recidivation, backsliding.

v. 528. ipostacis] i. e. hypostasis.

v. 533. fore top] i. e. (as the context shews) simply,—head, pate.

v. 535. knowe and ken] A pleonasm,—unless ken be explained—see.

v. 542.

Concerning the wine called sack (about which so much has been written) see Henderson’s Hist. of Anc. and Mod. Wines, p. 298.

v. 544. brennyng] i. e. burning.

v. 545. warke] i. e. work.

Page 332. v. 549. carpe] i. e. talk, prate.

v. 551. Called Wicleuista] From Wicliffe.

v. 553. Hussyans] i. e. followers of Huss.

v. 554. Arryans] i. e. followers of Arius.

v. 555. Pollegians] i. e. Pelagians,—followers of Pelagius.

v. 559. to mykel] i. e. too much.

Page 332. v. 564. tryalytes] i. e. three benefices united.

v. 565. tot quottes] So Barclay;

Page 333. v. 572. persons and vycaryes] i. e. parsons and vicars.

v. 576. loselles] See note, p. 209. v. 138.

v. 577. lewdely] i. e. wickedly, vilely.

v. 578. sely] i. e. silly, simple, harmless.

v. 581. mought] i. e. might.

v. 582. so dysgysed] See note, p. 205. v. 22.

Page 334. v. 597. lokes] i. e. looks.

v. 598. bokes] i. e. books.

v. 600. wroken] i. e. wreaked.

v. 602. iauell] See note, p. 271. v. 2218.

v. 604. face] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

—— crake] i. e. vaunt, talk bigly.

v. 606. kayser] See note, p. 247. v. 796.

v. 607. layser] i. e. leisure.

v. 619. connyng] i. e. knowledge, learning.

—— auaunce] i. e. advance.

Page 335. v. 624. dykes] i. e. ditches.

v. 625. Set nothyng by] i. e. Value not, regard not.

v. 637. ye, shall] i. e. yea, I shall.

v. 648. shule] i. e. shovel.

Page 336. v. 654. mamockes] See note, p. 268. v. 2035.

v. 663. kynde] i. e. nature.

v. 664. Many one ye haue vntwynde] The reading of the MS., which at least gives a sense to the line: vntwynde, i. e. destroyed; see note, p. 127. v. 284.

v. 668. fote] i. e. foot.

v. 672. in the deuyll way] A common expression in our early writers.

“In the twenty deuyll way, Au nom du grant diable.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxlii. (Table of Aduerbes). “What reason is that, in the twenty deuell waye, that he shulde bere suche a rule? Quænam (malum) ratio est,” &c. Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. dd iii. ed. 1530.

Page 337. v. 673. ouer] i. e. besides.

v. 675. hear] i. e. hair.

v. 679. tonsors] i. e. tonsures.

v. 688. the male dothe wrye] See note, p. 142. v. 700.

Page 338. v. 692. Ye bysshops of estates]—of estates, i. e. of great estate, rank, dignity.

v. 698. awtentyke] i. e. authentic.

v. 704. intoxicate] i. e. poison (Lat. intoxico).

v. 705. conquinate] i. e. coinquinate,—pollute, defile, defame.

v. 710. The Churchis hygh estates] i. e. the dignitaries of the Church.

Page 339. v. 728. marke] i. e. marks,—the coins so called.

v. 730. werke] i. e. work.

v. 734. sawe] i. e. saying,—branch of learning.

v. 737. pore] i. e. poor.

v. 739. frere] i. e. friar.

Page 340. v. 747.

The statement that Edward the Third founded a religious house at Greenwich in 1376 appears to rest on no authority. A grant of Edward the Fourth to certain Minorites or Observant Friars of the order of St. Francis of a piece of ground which adjoined the palace at Greenwich, and on which they had begun to build several small mansions, was confirmed in 1486 by a charter of Henry the Seventh, who founded there a convent of friars of that order, to consist of a warden and twelve brethren at the least; and who is said to have afterwards rebuilt their convent from the foundation. The friars of Greenwich were much favoured by Katherine, queen of Henry the Eighth; and when, during the question of her divorce, they had openly espoused her cause, the king was so greatly enraged that he suppressed the whole order throughout England. The convent at Greenwich was dissolved in 1534. Queen Mary reinstated them in their possessions, and new-founded and repaired their monastery. Queen Elizabeth suppressed them, &c. See Lysons’s Environs of London, iv. 464. ed. 1796.

v. 754. Babuell besyde Bery] When by an order of Pope Urban the Fourth, the Grey Friars were removed out of the town and jurisdiction of Bury St. Edmund, in 1263, “they retired to a place just without the bounds, beyond the north gate, called Babwell, now the Toll-gate, which the abbat and convent generously gave them to build on; and here they continued till the dissolution.” Tanner’s Not. Mon. p. 527. ed. 1744.

Page 340. v. 755. To postell vpon a kyry] i. e. to comment upon a Kyrie eleison: (a postil is a short gloss, or note).

v. 757. coted] i. e. quoted.

Page 341. v. 779. blother] i. e. gabble.

v. 780.

So again our author in his Garlande of Laurell;

Compare The Legend of the Bischop of St Androis;

“Welchman’s hose. Equivalent, I imagine, to the breeches of a Highlander, or the dress of a naked Pict; upon the presumption that Welchmen had no hose.” Nares’s Gloss. in v. Unfortunately, however, for this ingenious conjecture, the expression is found varied to “shipman’s hose,”—which certainly cannot be considered as a non-entity. “Hereunto they adde also a Similitude not very agreeable, how the Scriptures be like to a Nose of Waxe, or a Shipmans Hose: how thei may be fashioned, and plied al manner of waies, and serue al mennes turnes.” Jewel’s Defence of the Apologie, &c. p. 465. ed. 1567. “And not made as a shippe mans hose to serue for euery legge.” Wilson’s Arte of Rhetorike, p. 102. ed. 1580. Surely Welshman’s hose (as well as shipman’s) became proverbial from their pliability, power of being stretched, &c.

v. 784. broke] i. e. brook.

v. 785. loke] i. e. look.

v. 786. boke] i. e. book.

Page 342. v. 800. the brode gatus] Means perhaps, Broadgates Hall, Oxford, on the site of which Pembroke College was erected.

v. 801. Daupatus] i. e. Simple-pate: see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 803. Dronhen as a mouse] So Chaucer;

v. 805. his pyllyon and his cap]—pyllyon, from Lat. pileus. Compare Barclay;

and Cavendish’s Life of Wolsey; “and upon his head a round pillion, with a noble of black velvet set to the same in the inner side” [where surely we ought to read, “and upon his head a round pillion of black velvet, with a noble set to the same in the inner side”]. p. 105. ed. 1827.

Page 342. v. 811. As wyse as Waltoms calfe] So Heywood;

Ray gives, “As wise as Waltham’s calf, that ran nine miles to suck a bull.” Proverbs, p. 220. ed. 1768.

v. 812. a Goddes halfe] See note, p. 174. v. 501.

v. 817. scole matter] i. e. school-matter.

Page 343. v. 820. elenkes] i. e. elenchs (elenchus—in logic).

v. 822. mell] i. e. meddle.

v. 826. neuen] i. e. name.

v. 831. mo] i. e. more.

v. 836. Lymyters] i. e. Friars licensed to beg within certain districts.

v. 840. Flatterynge, &c.] Compare Barclay;

v. 843. lese] i. e. lose.

Page 344. v. 846. bacon flycke] i. e. flitch of bacon.

v. 849. couent] i. e. convent.

v. 852. theyr tonges fyle]—fyle, i. e. smooth, polish: the expression occurs in earlier and in much later writers.

v. 854.

As we find the name “Mawte” in our author’s Elynour Rummyng, v. 159. vol. i. 100, and as in the second of these lines the MS. (see note ad l.) has “fawte” (i. e. fault), the right reading is probably,

v. 856. prouoke] i. e. incite.

v. 857. Gyll and Jacke at Noke] See note on v. 323. p. 283.

v. 861. In open tyme] i. e. In the time when no fasts are imposed.

v. 864. an olde sayd sawe] “Oulde sayd sawe prouerbe.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. li. (Table of Subst.).

Page 344. v. 866. Some walke aboute in melottes] “Circuierunt in melotis.” Vulgate,—Heb. xi. 37. “Melotes,” as Mr. Albert Way observes to me, “is explained in the Catholicon to be a garment used by the monks during laborious occupation, made of the skin of the badger, and reaching from the neck to the loins,” and according to other early dictionaries, it was made of the hair or skin of other animals. So the original Greek word, μηλωτή, which properly means pellis ovina, signifies also pellis quævis.

v. 867. heery] i. e. hairy.

v. 868. ne] i. e. nor.

v. 869. in remotes] i. e. in retired places.

Page 345. v. 874.

—shryue, assoyle, i. e. confess, absolve.—“On a de Clément V une compilation nouvelle, tant des décrets du concile général de Vienne, que de ses épîtres ou constitutions. C’est ce qu’on appelle les Clémentines.” L’Art de vérifier les Dates, &c. (depuis la naissance de Notre-seigneur), iii. 382. ed. 1818. Skelton alludes here to Clement. lib. iii. tit. vii. cap. ii. which begins, “Dvdum à Bonifacio Papa octauo prædecessore nostro,” &c., and contains the following passages. “Ab olim siquidem inter Prælatos & Rectores, seu Sacerdotes ac Clericos parochialium Ecclesiarum per diuersas Mundi prouincias constitutos ex vna parte, & Prædicatorum & Minorum ordinum fratres ex altera (pacis æmulo, satore zizaniæ procurante), grauis & periculosa discordia extitit, suscitata super prædicationib. fidelium populis faciendis, eorum confessionibus audiendis, pœnitentiis iniungendis eisdem, & tumulandis defunctorum corporibus, qui apud fratrum ipsorum Ecclesias siue loca noscuntur eligere sepulturam.... Statuimus etiam & ordinamus auctoritate prædicta, vt in singulis ciuitatibus & diœcesibus, in quibus loca fratrum ipsorum consistere dignoscuntur, vel in ciuitatibus & diœcesibus locis ipsis vicinis, in quibus loca huiusmodi non habentur, Magistri, Priores prouinciales Prædicatorum, aut eorum Vicarij & Generales, et Prouinciales Ministri & custodes Minorum & ordinum prædictorum ad præsentiam Prælatorum eorundem locorum se conferant per se, vel per fratres, quos ad hoc idoneos fore putauerint, humiliter petituri, vt fratres, qui ad hoc electi fuerint, in eorum ciuitatibus & diœcesibus confessiones subditorum suorum confiteri sibi volentium audire liberè valeant, & huiusmodi confitentibus (prout secundùm Deum expedire cognouerint) pœnitentias imponere salutares, atque eisdem absolutionis beneficium impendere de licentia, gratia, & beneplacito eorundem: Ac deinde præfati Magistri, Priores, Prouinciales, & Ministri ordinum prædictorum eligere studeant personas sufficientes, idoneas, vita probatas, discretas, modestas, atque peritas, ad tam salubre ministerium et officium exequendum: quas sic ab ipsis electas repræsentent, vel faciant præsentari Prælatis, vt de eorum licentia, gratia, & beneplacito in ciuitatib. & dioecesibus eorundem huiusmodi personæ sic electæ confessiones confiteri sibi volentium audiant, imponant pœnitentias salutares, & beneficium absolutionis (in posterum) impendant, prout superiùs est expressum: extra ciuitates & diœceses, in quibus fuerint deputatæ, per quas eas volumus & non per prouincias deputari, confessiones nullatenus audituræ. Numerus autem personarum assumendarum ad huiusmodi officium exercendum esse debet, prout vniuersitas cleri & populi, ac multitudo vel paucitas exigit eorundem. Et si iidem Prælati petitam licentiam confessionum huiusmodi audiendarum concesserint: illam præfati Magistri, Ministri, & alij cum gratiarum recipiant actione, dictæque personæ sic electæ commissum sibi officium exequantur. Quòd si fortè iam dicti Prælati quenquam ex dictis fratribus præsentatis eisdem ad huiusmodi officium nollent habere, vel non ducerent admittendum: eo amoto, vel subtracto loco ipsius similiter eisdem præsentandus Prælatis possit, & debeat alius surrogari. Si verò iidem Prælati præfatis fratribus ad confessiones (vt præmittitur) audiendas electis, huiusmodi exhibere licentiam recusârint, nos ex nunc ipsis, vt confessiones sibi confiteri volentium liberè licitèque audire valeant, & eisdem pœnitentias imponere salutares, atque eisdem beneficium absolutionis impertiri, gratiosè concedimus de plenitudine Apostolicæ potestatis. Per huiusmodi autem concessionem nequaquam intendimus personis, seu fratribus ipsis ad id taliter deputatis, potestatem in hoc impendere ampliorem quàm in eo curatis vel parochialibus Sacerdotib. est à iure concessa: nisi forsan eis Ecclesiarum Prælati vberiorem in hac parte gratiam specialiter ducerent faciendam.” Pp. 184-190. (Decret. tom. iii. ed. 1600.)

Page 345. v. 879.

The name “Cristian Clowte” has occurred before in our author’s Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale, vol. i. 28. The story alluded to in this passage appears to be nearly the same as that which is related in a comparatively modern ballad, entitled,

“The Fryer Well-fitted:
or,
A Pretty Jest that once befel,
How a Maid put a Fryer to cool in the Well.
To a merry new Tune. Licens’d and Enter’d according to Order.”

The Friar wishes to seduce the Maid;

The Maid then tells him that he “shall have his request,” but only on condition that he brings her “an angel of money.” While he is absent, “She hung a Cloth before the Well;” and, when he has returned, and given her the angel,—

The Maid at last helps him out, and bids him be gone; but when he asks her to give him back the angel,—

Page 345. v. 882.

—mo, i. e. more. Some corruption, if not considerable mutilation of the text, may be suspected here. There seems to be an allusion to Clement, lib. v. tit. xi. cap. i., which begins, “Exiui de paradiso, dixi, rigabo hortum plantationum, ait ille cœlestis agricola,” &c. P. 313. (Decret. tom. iii. ed. 1600).

v. 892. abiections] i. e. objections.

Page 346. v. 901. hertes] i. e. hearts.

v. 903. coueytous] i. e. covetise, covetousness.

v. 906. play scylens and glum, &c.] See note on v. 83. p. 278.

v. 911. leuer] i. e. more willingly, rather.

v. 914. Worsshepfully] i. e. According to their honour, or dignity.

Page 347. v. 922. payntes] See note, p. 176. v. 583.

v. 924. them lyke] i. e. please them.

v. 931. crosse] See note, p. 116. v. 363.

v. 932. predyall landes] i. e. farm-lands.

v. 943. palles] See note on v. 312. p. 283.

v. 944. Arras] i. e. tapestry: see note, p. 192. v. 78.

v. 947. lusty] i. e. pleasant, desirable,—beautiful.

Page 348. v. 950. shote] i. e. shoot.

v. 951. tyrly tyrlowe] This passage was strangely misunderstood by the late Mr. Douce, who thought that “tyrly tyrlowe” alluded to the note of the crow, that bird being mentioned in the preceding line! Illust. of Shakespeare, i. 353. The expression has occurred before, in our author’s Elynour Rummyng, v. 292. vol. i. 104: here it is equivalent to the modern fa, la, la, which is often used with a sly or wanton allusion,—as, for instance, at the end of each stanza of Pope’s court-ballad, The Challenge.

Page 348. v. 953. a lege de moy] See note, p. 176. v. 587.

v. 956. With suche storyes bydene]—bydene, that is “by the dozen,” says Warton, erroneously, quoting this passage, Hist. of E. P., ii. 343. ed. 4to (note). The word occurs frequently in our early poetry, with different significations: here it may be explained—together—(with a collection of such stories); so in The Worlde and the Chylde, 1522;

v. 957. Their chambres well besene]—well besene, i. e. of a good appearance,—well-furnished, or adorned: see note, p. 112. v. 283.

v. 962. Nowe all the worlde stares, &c.] “This is still,” as Warton observes (Hist. of E. P., ii. 343. ed. 4to, note), “a description of tapestry.”

v. 963. chares] i. e. chariots.

v. 964. olyphantes] i. e. elephants.

v. 965, garlantes] i. e. garlands.

v. 974. estate] i. e. high rank, dignity.

v. 975. courage] i. e. heart, affections.

v. 977.

—parfetnesse, i. e. perfectness. “We should observe,” says Warton, after citing the passage, “that the satire is here pointed at the subject of these tapestries. The graver ecclesiastics, who did not follow the levities of the world, were contented with religious subjects, or such as were merely historical.” Hist. of E. P., ii. 344. ed. 4to.

Page 349. v. 983. remorde] See note, p. 193. v. 101.

v. 987. mellyng] i. e. meddling.

v. 990. besy] i. e. busy.

v. 991. For one man to rule a kyng] An allusion, I apprehend, to Wolsey’s influence over Henry the Eighth: so again our author speaking of Wolsey, in the Latin lines at the end of Why Come ye nat to Courte, “Qui regnum regemque regit.” Vol. ii. 67. I may observe too in further confirmation of the reading “kyng” instead of “gyng” (see note ad loc.), that we have had in an earlier passage of the present poem,

v. 996. flyt] i. e. remove.

v. 998. quysshon] i. e. cushion.

v. 1000. Cum regibus amicare] “Amico, to be frend.” Medulla Gramatice, MS. (now in the possession of Mr. Rodd).

Page 349. v. 1002. pravare] In Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de. Worde, n. d., is “Prauo ... prauum facere. or to shrewe,” and “Tirannus. shrewe or tyrande.” The meaning therefore of pravare in our text may be—to play the tyrant.

Page 350. v. 1003. vre] “Evr happe or lucke with his compoundes bonevr and malevr,” &c. Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. vi. (Thirde Boke).

v. 1014. played so checkemate] In allusion to the king’s being put in check at the game of chess.

v. 1017. mell] i. e. meddle.

v. 1019. kayser] See note, p. 247. v. 796.

v. 1020. at the playsure of one, &c.] Meaning, surely, Wolsey.

v. 1025. not so hardy on his hede] An elliptical expression; compare v. 1154. In the Morte d’Arthur when Bors is on the point of slaying King Arthur, “Not soo hardy sayd syr launcelot vpon payn of thy hede, &c.” B. xx. c. xiii. vol. ii. 411. ed. Southey.

v. 1026. To loke on God in forme of brede]—loke, i. e. look: brede, i. e. bread. A not unfrequent expression in our early writers.

See too Ritson’s An. Pop. Poetry, p. 84; and Hartshorne’s An. Met. Tales, p. 134.

Page 351. v. 1030. sacryng] “Sacryng of the masse sacrement.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lx. (Table of Subst.). And see Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. in v.

v. 1041. preas] i. e. press.

v. 1047. ne] i. e. nor.

v. 1050. warke] i. e. work, business.

Page 352. v. 1051. this] Perhaps for—thus; see note, p. 86. v. 38.

v. 1054. vncouthes] i. e. strange matters.

v. 1055. ken] i. e. know.

v. 1070. premenire] i. e. præmunire.

v. 1074. fotyng] i. e. footing.

Page 352. v. 1075. motyng] i. e. mooting. “Certamen ... anglice flytynge chydynge or motynge.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d.

v. 1076. totyng] i. e. prying, peeping.

Page 353. v. 1084. hole route] i. e. whole crowd, set.

v. 1098. escrye] i. e. call out against: see notes, p. 145. v. 903. p. 152. v. 1358. p. 283. v. 337.

v. 1102. werke] i. e. work.

Page 354. v. 1106. hynderyng] See note, p. 245. v. 719.

—— dysauaylyng] “I Disauayle one, I hynder his auauntage, Ie luy porte dom̄aige.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccxii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 1116. to be gramed] i. e. to be angered: gramed is doubtless the right reading here, though the eds. have “greued” and the MS. “grevyd”—(grame has already occurred in Magnyfycence, v. 1864).

Page 355. v. 1134. depraue] i. e. vilify, defame.

v. 1154. Not so hardy on theyr pates] See note on v. 1025, preceding page.

v. 1155. losell] See note, p. 209. v. 138.

v. 1156. wesaunt] i. e. weasand.

v. 1157. syr Guy of Gaunt] See note, p. 184. v. 70.

v. 1158. lewde] i. e. wicked, vile.

Page 356. v. 1159. doctour Deuyas] See note, p. 95. v. 55.

v. 1162. dawcocke] i. e. simpleton: see note, p. 113. v. 301.

—— mell] i. e. meddle.

v. 1164. Allygate] i. e. Allege.

v. 1170. lurdeyne] See note, p. 242. v. 423.

v. 1171. Lytell Ease] “Little Ease (prison), mala mansio, arcæ robustæ.” Coles’s Dict.—“Little-Ease. A familiar term for a pillory, or stocks; or an engine uniting both purposes, the bilboes.” Nares’s Gloss.

v. 1178. rechelesse] i. e. reckless.

Page 357. v. 1184. Poules Crosse] i. e. Paul’s Cross.

v. 1186. Saynt Mary Spyttell] In Bishopsgate Ward: see Stow’s Survey, B. ii. 97. ed. 1720.

v. 1187. set not by vs a whystell] i. e. value us not at a whistle, care not a whistle for us. Compare Lydgate;

v. 1188. the Austen fryers] In Broad-street Ward: see Stow’s Survey, B. ii. 114, ed. 1720.

Page 357. v. 1190. Saynt Thomas of Akers] Concerning the “Hospital intituled of S. Thomas of Acon or Acars [Acre in the Holy Land], near to the great Conduit in Cheape,” see Stow’s Survey, B. iii. 37. ed. 1720, and Maitland’s Hist. of London, ii. 886. ed. 1756.

v. 1191. carpe vs] Is explained by the various reading of the MS.,—“clacke of us.”

—— crakers] i. e., as the context shews, (not—vaunters, but) noisy talkers.

v. 1193. reason or skyll] See note, p. 238. v. 106.

v. 1196. at a pronge] See note, p. 243. v. 506.

v. 1199. fonge] i. e. take, get.

v. 1201. the ryght of a rambes horne] An expression which our author has again in Speke, Parrot, v. 498. vol. ii. 24. So in a metrical fragment, temp. Edward ii.;

And Lydgate has a copy of verses, the burden of which is,—

See too Ray’s Proverbs, p. 225. ed. 1768.

v. 1206. yawde] i. e. hewed, cut down. “To Yaw, to hew.” Gloss. appended to A Dialogue in the Devonshire Dialect, 1837.

Page 358. v. 1208. Ezechyas] Ought to be “Isaias;” for, according to a Jewish tradition, Isaiah was cut in two with a wooden saw by order of King Manasseh.

v. 1216. agayne] i. e. against.

v. 1223. cough, rough, or sneuyll]—rough, i. e., perhaps, rout, snore, snort. I may just observe that Palsgrave not only gives “rowte” in that sense, but also “I Rowte I belche as one dothe that voydeth wynde out of his stomacke, Ie roucte.” Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. cccxliiii. (Table of Verbes); and that Coles has “To rout, Crepo, pedo.” Dict.

v. 1224. Renne] i. e. Run.

v. 1227. set not a nut shell] i. e. value not at a nut-shell, care not a nut-shell for.

v. 1229. gyse] i. e. guise, fashion.

Page 359. v. 1232. sayd sayne] A sort of pleonastic expression,—equivalent to—called commonly or proverbially: see note on v. 864. p. 290.

v. 1235. domis day] i. e. doomsday.

Page 359. v. 1239. boke] i. e. book.

v. 1240. By hoke ne by croke] i. e. By hook nor by crook.

v. 1244. nolles] i. e. heads.

v. 1245. noddy polles] i. e. silly heads.

v. 1246. sely] i. e. silly.

v. 1248. great estates] i. e. persons of great estate, or rank.

v. 1255. wawes wod] i. e. waves mad, raging.

v. 1257. Shote] i. e. Shoot, cast.

v. 1258. farre] i. e. farther:

Page 360. v. 1262. the porte salu] i. e. the safe port. Skelton has the term again in his Garlande of Laurell, v. 541. vol. i. 383. Compare Hoccleve;

where the editor observes, “Port salut was a kind of proverbial expression, and so used in the translation of Cicero de senectute printed by Caxton.”

Sheriff-Hutton Castle “is situated in the Wapentake of Bulmer, and is distant ten miles north-east from York ... The slender accounts of it that have reached our times, ascribe its origin to Bertram de Bulmer, an English Baron, who is recorded by Camden to have built it in the reign of King Stephen, A.D. 1140 ... From the Bulmers it descended by marriage to the noble family of the Nevilles, and continued in their possession upwards of 300 years, through a regular series of reigns, until seized by Edward iv. in 1471, who soon after gave the Castle and Manor to his brother the Duke of Gloucester, afterwards Richard iii. In 1485, in consequence of the death of Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field, it became the property of King Henry vii., and continued in the hands of the Crown, until James the First granted it to his son, Prince Charles, about 1616. The Castle and Manor were subsequently granted (also by King James, according to Camden, and the original grant confirmed by Prince Charles after he ascended the throne) to the family of the Ingrams, about 1624-5, and are now in possession of their lineal descendant, the present Marchioness of Hertford.” Some Account of Sheriff-Hutton Castle, &c. pp. 3-5, York, 1824.

Leland (who says, erroneously it would seem, that Sheriff-Hutton Castle “was buildid by Rafe Nevill of Raby the fyrst Erl of Westmerland of the Nevilles,”) gives the following description of it. “There is a Base Court with Houses of Office afore the Entering of the Castelle. The Castelle self in the Front is not dichid, but it stondith in loco utcunque edito. I markid yn the fore Front of the first Area of the Castelle self 3. great and high Toures, of the which the Gate House was the Midle. In the secunde Area ther be a 5. or 6. Toures, and the stately Staire up to the Haul is very Magnificent, and so is the Haul it self, and al the residew of the House: in so much that I saw no House in the North so like a Princely Logginges. I lernid ther that the Stone that the Castel was buildid with was fetchid from a Quarre at Terington a 2. Miles of. There is a Park by the Castel. This Castel was wel maintainid, by reason that the late Duke of Northfolk lay ther x. Yers, and sins the Duk of Richemond. From Shirhuten to York vij. Miles, and in the Forest of Galtres, wherof 4. Miles or more was low Medowes and Morisch Ground ful of Carres, the Residew by better Ground but not very high.” Itin. i. 67. ed. 1770.

“Report asserts, that during the civil wars in the time of Charles the First, it [the Castle] was dismantled, and the greater part of its walls taken down, by order of the Parliament. But this is certainly not the fact, as will be seen by reference to the ‘Royal Survey’ made in 1624 ... From this Survey it will appear evident, that the Castle was dismantled and almost in total ruin in the time of James I.,—how long it had been so, previous to the Survey alluded to, is now difficult to say. From the present appearance of the ruins, it is plain that the Castle was purposely demolished and taken down by workmen, (probably under an order from the Crown, in whatever reign it might happen,) and not destroyed by violence of war. However, since this devastation by human hands, the yet more powerful and corroding hand of Time has still further contributed to its destruction.... The Castle stands upon a rising bank or eminence in front of the village, and its ruins may be seen on every side at a great distance.” Some Account, &c. (already cited), pp. 5, 6. The vast forest of Galtres formerly extended nearly all round Sheriff-Hutton.

When Skelton wrote the present poem, Sheriff-Hutton Castle was in possession of the Duke of Norfolk, to whom it had been granted by the crown for life: see note on v. 769.

Page 361. v. 1. Arectyng] i. e. Raising.

Page 361. v. 6. plenarly] i. e. fully—at full.

v. 9. somer flower] i. e. summer-flower.

v. 10. halfe] i. e. side, part.

Page 362. v. 15. dumpe] “I Dumpe I fall in a dumpe or musyng vpon thynges.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccxxii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 16. Encraumpysshed] i. e. encramped. Skelton’s fondness for compounds of this kind has been already noticed. The simple word occurs in other writers:

—— conceyte] i. e. conceit, conception.

v. 20. boystors] i. e. boisterous.

v. 22.

—stode, i. e. stood: frytthy, i. e. woody: ensowkid, i. e. ensoaked: sylt, i. e. mud: mose, i. e. moss. The forest of Galtres (which, as already noticed, extended nearly all round Sheriff-Hutton) was, when Camden wrote, “in some places shaded with trees, in others swampy.” Britannia (by Gough), iii. 20.

v. 24. hartis belluyng] In the Book of Saint Albans, Juliana Berners, treating “Of the cryenge of thyse bestys,” says,

—— embosyd] “When he [the hart] is foamy at the mouth, we say that he is embost.” Turbervile’s Noble Art of Venerie, p. 244. ed. 1611.

v. 26. the hynde calfe] “Ceruula. a hynde calfe.” Ortus Vocab. fol. ed. W. de Worde, n. d. In the Book of Saint Albans we are told;

v. 27. forster] i. e. forester.

—— bate] Does it mean—set on, or train?

v. 28. torne] i. e. turn.

v. 32. superflue] i. e. superfluous.

v. 35. wele] i. e. well.

Page 363. v. 38. disgysede] i. e. decked out in an unusual manner.

Page 363. v. 39. fresshe] “Fresshe, gorgyouse, gay.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lxxxviii. (Table of Adiect.),—which I ought to have cited earlier for the meaning of this word.

v. 40. Enhachyde with perle, &c.] i. e. Inlaid, adorned with pearl, &c. Our author in his Phyllyp Sparowe tells us that a lady had a wart (or as he also calls it, a scar) “enhached on her fayre skyn,” v. 1078. vol. i. 84. Gifford observes that “literally, to hatch is to inlay [originally, I believe, to cut, engrave, mark with lines]; metaphorically, it is to adorn, to beautify, with silver, gold, &c.” Note on Shirley’s Works, ii. 301. “The ladies apparell was after the fashion of Inde, with kerchifes of pleasance, hatched with fine gold.” Holinshed’s Chron. (Hen. viii.) vol. iii. 849. ed. 1587. “Hatching, is to Silver or gild the Hilt and Pomell of a Sword or Hanger.” R. Holme’s Ac. of Armory, 1688. B. iii. p. 91.

v. 41. The grounde engrosyd and bet with bourne golde]—grounde, i. e. (not floor, but) ground-work; as in Lydgate’s verses entitled For the better abyde;

engrosyd, i. e. thickened, enriched: bet has here the same meaning as in Le Bone Florence of Rome;

who somewhat copiously explains it “beaten, plaited, inlay’d, embroider’d:” bourne, i. e. burnished.

v. 44. abylyment] i. e. habiliment.

v. 45. estates] i. e. persons of estate or rank.

v. 49. supplyed] i. e. supplicated.

v. 50. pusant] i. e. puissant, powerful, mighty.

v. 52. of very congruence] i. e. of very fitness.

v. 54. astate] i. e. estate, rank, dignity.

—— most lenen] i. e. must lean, bend, bow.

v. 55. arrect] i. e. raise.

v. 58. ryall] i. e. royal.

Page 364. v. 65. wele] i. e. well.

v. 66. embesy] i. e. embusy.

—— holl corage] i. e. whole heart.

v. 68. were] i. e. wear.

v. 69. wonder slake] i. e. wonderfully slack.

v. 70. lake] i. e. lack, fault.

v. 71. ne were] i. e. were it not.

v. 72. bokis ... sone ... rase] i. e. books ... soon ... erase.

v. 73. sith] i. e. since.

v. 74. Elyconis] i. e. Helicon’s.

v. 75. endeuour hymselfe] i. e. exert himself (compare v. 936).

v. 77. sittynge] i. e. proper, becoming.

v. 79. to] i. e. too.

v. 80. comprised] Compare our author in Lenuoy to Wolsey;

v. 81. rin] i. e. run.

Page 365. v. 83. pullishe] i. e. polish.

v. 86. remorde] See note, p. 193. v. 101.

v. 94. mo ... enduce] i. e. more ... bring in, adduce.

v. 95. parde for to kyll] i. e. par dieu, verily, for to be killed.

v. 96. enuectyfys] i. e. invectives.

v. 101. the grey] i. e. the badger. Juliana Berners says;

v. 102. gose ... oliphaunt] i. e. goose ... elephant.

v. 103. ageyne] i. e. against.

Page 366. v. 110. confecture] i. e. composition.

v. 111. diffuse is to expounde] i. e. is difficult to expound: see note, p. 144. v. 768.

v. 112. make ... fawt] i. e. compose ... fault.

v. 114. motyue] i. e. motion. So in the next line but one is “promotyue,” i. e. promotion: and so Lydgate has “ymaginatyfe” for—imagination. Fall of Prynces, B. v. leaf cxvii. ed. Wayland.

v. 115. auaunce] i. e. advance.

v. 116. rowme] i. e. room, place.

v. 121. gyse] i. e. guise, fashion.

v. 122. iche man doth hym dres] i. e. each man doth address, apply, himself.

v. 124. bokis] i. e. books.

Page 366. v. 127. loke] i. e. look.

v. 129. mo] i. e. more.

Page 367. v. 133. Ageyne] i. e. Against.

v. 136. wele] i. e. well.

v. 137. rasid] i. e. erased.

v. 140. Sith] i. e. Since.

—— defaut] i. e. default, want.

—— konnyng] i. e. (not so much—knowledge, learning, as) skill, ability.

v. 141. apposelle] i. e. question.

—— wele inferrid] i. e. well brought in.

v. 142.

i. e. it is lively, subtly expressed: compare v. 592 and v. 1161, where the words are applied to visible objects.

—— debarrid] See note, p. 237. v. 60; and compare Gentylnes and Nobylyte (attributed without grounds to Heywood) n. d.;

Page 368. v. 149. sittyng] i. e. proper, becoming.

v. 152. corage] i. e. encourage.

v. 153. fresshely] i. e. elegantly: see note on v. 39. p. 302.

v. 155. bruitid] i. e. reported, spoken of.

v. 156. outray] See note, p. 123. v. 87, where this passage is examined.

v. 162. Ierome, in his preamble Frater Ambrosius, &c.] The Epistle of Jerome to Paulinus, prefixed to the Vulgate, begins, “Frater Ambrosius tua mihi munuscula perferens,” &c., and contains this passage: “Unde et Æschines, cum Rhodi exularet, et legeretur illa Demosthenis oratio, quam adversus eum habuerat, mirantibus cunctis atque laudantibus, suspirans ait, Quid, si ipsam audissetis bestiam sua verba resonantem?” It may be found also in Hieronymi Opp. I. 1005. ed. 1609.

Page 369. v. 172. most] i. e. must.

v. 180. wele ... avaunce] i. e. well ... advance.

v. 183. thefte and brybery] See note, p. 256. v. 1242.

v. 184. pyke] i. e. pick.

Page 369. v. 186. cokwoldes] i. e. cuckolds.

v. 187. wetewoldis] i. e. wittols, tame cuckolds.

v. 188. lidderons] So before, lydderyns; see note, p. 267. v. 1945: but here, it would seem, the word is used in the more confined sense of—sluggish, slothful, idle fellows.

—— losels] See note, p. 209. v. 138.

—— noughty packis] See note, p. 203. v. 58.—If Skelton had been required to distinguish exactly between the meanings of these terms of reproach, he would perhaps have been nearly as much at a loss as his editor.

v. 189. Some facers, some bracers, some make great crackis] See note, p. 216. v. 33.

v. 192. courte rowlis] i. e. court-rolls.—Warton cites this and the next two verses as “nervous and manly lines.” Hist. of E. P. ii. 354. ed. 4to.

v. 196. rinne] i. e. run.

Page 370. v. 198. cunnyng] i. e. knowledge, learning.

v. 200. a mummynge] See note, p. 278. v. 83.

v. 201. sadnesse] See note, p. 259. v. 1382.

v. 203. faute] i. e. fault.

v. 204. to] i. e. too.

v. 205. can ... scole] i. e. knows ... school.

v. 207. fole] i. e. fool.

v. 208. stole] i. e. stool.

v. 209. Iacke a thrummis bybille] See note, p. 189. v. 204.

v. 211. agayne] i. e. against.

v. 212. dwte] i. e. duty.

v. 218. to] i. e. too.

Page 371. v. 223. lay] See note, p. 219. v. 103.

—— werkis] i. e. works.

v. 227. most] i. e. must.

v. 232. condiscendid] See note, p. 237. v. 39.

v. 233. clarionar] Is used here for—trumpeter: but the words properly are not synonymous;

and Skelton himself has afterwards in the present poem, “trumpettis and clariouns.” v. 1507.

v. 235. Eolus, your trumpet] i. e. Æeolus, your trumpeter.

So Chaucer makes Æolus trumpeter to Fame: see House of Fame, B. iii.

Page 371. v. 236. mercyall] i. e. martial.

v. 239. prease] i. e. press, throng.

v. 240. hole rowte] i. e. whole crowd, assembly.

v. 243. this trumpet were founde out] See note, p. 251. v. 977.

v. 244. hardely] i. e. assuredly.

v. 245. eyne] i. e. eyes.

Page 372. v. 248. presid ... to] i. e. pressed ... too.

v. 250. Some whispred, some rownyd] See note, p. 120. v. 513.

v. 255. quod] i. e. quoth.

v. 258. plumpe] i. e. cluster, mass. “Stode stille as hit had ben a plompe of wood.” Morte d’Arthur, B. i. cap. xvi. vol. i. 27. ed. Southey. Dryden has the word; and the first writer perhaps after his time who used it was Sir W. Scott.

v. 260. timorous] i. e. terrible.

v. 264. rowte] i. e. crowd, assembly.

v. 265. girnid] i. e. grinned.

v. 266. peuysshe] i. e. silly, foolish.

—— masyd] i. e. bewildered, confounded.

v. 267. whyste] i. e. still.

—— the nonys] i. e. the occasion.

v. 268. iche ... stode] i. e. each ... stood.

v. 269. wonderly] i. e. wonderfully.

v. 270. A murmur of mynstrels] So in many of our early English dramas “a noise of musicians” is used for a company or band of musicians.

v. 272. Traciane] i. e. Thracian.

—— herped meledyously] i. e. harped melodiously.

Page 373. v. 274. armony] i. e. harmony.

v. 275. gree] i. e. agree.

v. 278. gle] i. e. music.

v. 279. auaunce] i. e. advance.

v. 282. Sterte ... fote] i. e. Started ... foot.

v. 285.

i. e. lack of,—less than.

v. 288. cronell] i. e. coronal, garland.

Page 373. v. 289. heris encrisped] i. e. hairs formed into curls, curling.

v. 290. Daphnes] i. e. Daphne. So our early poets wrote the name;

So afterwards in the present poem we find Cidippes for Cydippe, v. 885; and see note, p. 123. v. 70.

—— the darte of lede] From Ovid, Met. i. 471.

v. 291. ne wolde] i. e. would not.

v. 292. herte] i. e. heart.

v. 295. Meddelyd with murnynge] i. e. Mingled with mourning.

v. 296. O thoughtfull herte] See note, p. 101. v. 10.

v. 298. loke] i. e. look.

v. 300.

From Ovid, Met. i. 553.

Page 374. v. 302. he assurded into this exclamacyon]—assurded, i. e. broke forth—a word which I have not elsewhere met with, but evidently formed from the not uncommon verb sourd, to rise. “Ther withinne sourdeth and spryngeth a fontayne or welle.” Caxton’s Mirrour of the world, 1480. sig. e v.: in that work, a few lines after, occurs “resourdeth.”

v. 306. adyment] i. e. adamant.

v. 307. ouerthwhart] i. e. cross, perverse, adverse.

v. 310. Sith] i. e. Since.

v. 314. gresse] i. e. grass. This stanza is also imitated from Ovid, Met. i. 521.

v. 315. axes] See note, p. 100. v. 9.

v. 317. raist] i. e. arrayest: see note on title of poem, p. 197.

v. 318. But sith I haue lost, &c.] Again from Ovid, Met. i. 557.

v. 324. poetis laureat, &c.] It must be remembered that formerly a poet laureat meant a person who had taken a degree in grammar, including rhetoric and versification: and that the word poet was applied to a writer of prose as well as of verse; “Poet a connyng man.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. lv. (Table of Subst.).

Page 374. v. 328. Esiodus, the iconomicar] i. e. Hesiod, the writer on husbandry (the eds. by a misprint have “icononucar,”—which Warton says he “cannot decypher.” Hist. of E. P., ii. 352 (note), ed. 4to.) Among MSS. Dig. Bod. 147. is “Carmen Domini Walteri de Henleye quod vocatur Yconomia sive Housbundria:” compare Cicero; “quam copiose ab eo [Xenophonte] agricultura laudatur in eo libro, qui est de tuenda re familiari, qui Œconomicus inscribitur.” Cato Major, c. 17.

v. 329. fresshe] i. e. elegant: see note, p. 302. v. 39.

Page 375. v. 335. engrosyd] i. e. plumped up, swollen.

—— flotis] i. e. flowings,—drops: various reading, “droppes;” see note ad l. (“Flotyce. Spuma.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499, is a distinct word.)

v. 338. Percius presed forth with problemes diffuse]—presed, i. e. pressed: diffuse, i. e. difficult to be understood; see note, p. 144. v. 768. “Skelton, undoubtedly a man of learning, calls Persius (not unhappily for his mode of thinking) a writer of problems diffuse.” Gifford’s Introd. to Persius, p. xxxi. ed. 1817.

v. 340. satirray] Is this word to be explained—satirist, or satirical?

v. 344. auaunce] i. e. advance.

v. 345. mengith] i. e. mingleth.

v. 347. wrate ... mercyall] i. e. wrote ... martial.

v. 352. Orace also with his new poetry] “That is, Horace’s Art of Poetry. Vinesauf wrote De Nova Poetria. Horace’s Art is frequently mentioned under this title.” Warton’s Hist. of E. P., ii. 353 (note), ed. 4to.

Page 376. v. 359. Boyce] i. e. Boethius.

—— recounfortyd] i. e. recomforted,—comforted.

v. 360.

—iape, i. e. jest, joke. The Elegiarum Liber of Maximianus, which has been often printed as the production of Cornelius Gallus, may be found, with all that can be told concerning its author, in Wernsdorf’s Poetæ Latini Minores, tomi sexti pars prior. In these six elegies Maximianus deplores the evils of old age, relates the pursuits and loves of his youth, &c. &c. Perhaps the line “How dotynge age wolde iape with yonge foly” (in which case iape would have the same meaning here as in our author’s Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale, v. 20. vol. i. 28) is a particular allusion to Elegy v., where Maximianus informs us, that, having been sent on an embassy, at an advanced period of life, he became enamoured of a “Graia puella,” &c., the adventure being described in the grossest terms.

Page 376. v. 365. Johnn Bochas with his volumys grete] In Skelton’s time, the De Genealogia Deorum, the De Casibus Virorum et Fœminarum Illustrium, and other now-forgotten works of Boccaccio, were highly esteemed,—more, perhaps, than the Decamerone.

v. 366. full craftely that wrate] i. e. that wrote full skilfully.

v. 368. probate] See note, p. 236. v. 4.

v. 372. Poggeus ... with many a mad tale] When this poem was written, the Facetiæ of Poggio enjoyed the highest popularity. In The Palice of Honour, Gawen Douglas, enumerating the illustrious writers at the Court of the Muses, says,

v. 374. a frere of Fraunce men call sir Gagwyne, &c.]—frere, i. e. friar: concerning Gaguin, see Account of Skelton and his Writings.

v. 376. bote is of all bale] See note, p. 268. v. 2096.

Page 377. v. 380. Valerius Maximus by name] i. e. Valerius who has the name Maximus (to distinguish him from Valerius Flaccus).

v. 381. Vincencius in Speculo, that wrote noble warkis]—warkis, i. e. works. The Speculum Majus of Vincentius Bellovacensis (naturale, morale, doctrinale, et historiale), a vast treatise in ten volumes folio, usually bound in four, was first printed in 1473. See the Biog. Univ., and Hallam’s Introd. to the Lit. of Europe, i. 160.

v. 382. Pisandros] “Our author,” says Warton, “got the name of Pisander, a Greek poet, from Macrobius, who cites a few of his verses.” Hist. of E. P., ii. 353 (note), ed. 4to. A mistake: Macrobius (Sat. v. 2.) mentions, but does not cite, Pisander.

v. 383. blissed Bachus, that mastris oft doth frame]—mastris, i. e. disturbances, strifes: see note, p. 264. v. 1738.

v. 386. sadly ... auysid] i. e. seriously, earnestly ... considered, observed.

v. 389. fresshely be ennewed] See notes, p. 144. v. 775. p. 302. v. 39.

v. 390.

—Dane, equivalent to Dominus. So at the commencement of his Lyfe of our Lady, printed by Caxton, folio, n. d.; “This book was compyled by dan John lydgate monke of Burye,” &c. He belonged to the Benedictine abbey of Bury in Suffolk.

Page 377. v. 391. theis Englysshe poetis thre] “That only these three English poets [Gower, Chaucer, Lydgate] are here mentioned, may be considered as a proof that only these three were yet thought to deserve the name.” Warton’s Hist. of E. P., ii. 354. ed. 4to. So the Scottish poets of Skelton’s time invariably selected these three as most worthy of praise: see Laing’s note on Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 355.

v. 393. Togeder in armes, as brethern, enbrasid] So Lydgate;

v. 395. tabers] i. e. tabards: see the earlier portion of note, p. 283. v. 318.

v. 397. Thei wantid nothynge but the laurell] Meaning,—that they were not poets laureate: see note on v. 324. p. 307.

v. 398. godely] i. e. goodly.

v. 402. enplement] i. e. employment, place.

Page 378. v. 405. The brutid Britons of Brutus Albion]—brutid, i. e. famed. So Lydgate;

v. 410. Arrectinge vnto your wyse examinacion] See note, p. 237. v. 95.

v. 414. besy] i. e. busy.

v. 417. hooll] i. e. whole.

v. 420. poynted] i. e. appointed.

v. 421. pullisshyd] i. e. polished.

v. 425. mowte] i. e. might.

Page 379. v. 428. preuentid] i. e. anticipated.

v. 429. meritory] i. e. deserved, due.

v. 431. regraciatory] i. e. return of thanks.

v. 432. poynt you to be prothonatory] i. e. appoint you to be prothonotary.

v. 433. holl] i. e. whole.

v. 434. Auaunced] i. e. Advanced.

v. 439. warkes] i. e. works.

v. 444. I made it straunge] i. e. I made it a matter of nicety, scruple.

v. 445. presed] i. e. pressed.

Page 380. v. 455. prese] i. e. press, throng.

v. 460. Engolerid] i. e. Engalleried.

v. 466. turkis and grossolitis] i. e. turquoises and chrysolites.

Page 380. v. 467. birrall enbosid] i. e. beryl embossed.

v. 469.

i. e. Having many goodly plates of gold shaped like lozenges (quadrilateral figures of equal sides, but unequal angles).

—— entachid with many a precyous stone]—entachid may be used in the sense of—tacked on; but qy. is the right reading “enhachid?” as in v. 40 of the present poem, “Enhachyde with perle,” &c., (and v. 1078 of Phyllyp Sparowe,) see note, p. 302.

v. 472. whalis bone] In our early poetry “white as whales bone” is a common simile; and there is reason to believe that some of our ancient writers supposed the ivory then in use (which was made from the teeth of the horse-whale, morse, or walrus) to be part of the bones of a whale. Skelton, however, makes a distinction between “whalis bone” and the real ivory (see v. 468). The latter was still scarce in the reign of Henry the Eighth; but, before that period, Caxton had told his readers that “the tooth of an olyfaunt is yuorye.” Mirrour of the world, 1480. sig. f i.

v. 474. The carpettis within and tappettis of pall]—tappettis of pall, i. e. coverings of rich or fine stuff (perhaps table-covers): that tappettis does not here mean tapestry, is proved by the next line; and compare v. 787,

Page 381. v. 475. clothes of arace] See note, p. 192. v. 78.

v. 476. Enuawtyd ... vawte] i. e. Envaulted ... vault.

v. 477. pretory] Lat. prætorium.

v. 478. enbulyoned] i. e. studded; see note on v. 1165.

—— indy blew] See note, p. 101. v. 17.

v. 480. Iacinctis and smaragdis out of the florthe they grew]—Iacinctis, i. e. Jacinths: smaragdis, i. e. emeralds (but see note, p. 102. v. 20): “Vng planché, a plancher or a florthe that is boorded.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. iii. (Thirde Boke). “Florthe of a house astre.”—“Gyst that gothe ouer the florthe soliue, giste.” Id. fols. xxxiiii. xxxvi. (Table of Subst.). “I Plaster a wall or florthe with plaster ... I wyl plaster the florthe of my chambre to make a gernyer there, Ie plastreray latre de ma chābre pour en faire vng grenier.” Id. fol. cccxviii. (Table of Verbes).

v. 483. most rychely besene] i. e. of a most rich appearance,—most richly arrayed: see notes, p. 112. v. 283, p. 295. v. 957.

v. 484. cloth of astate] i. e. cloth of estate,—canopy.

v. 487. ryally] i. e. royally.

Page 381. v. 489. enuyrowne] i. e. in compass, about.

v. 490. stode] i. e. stood.

v. 492. presid] i. e. pressed.

v. 493. Poyle ... Trace] i. e. Apulia ... Thrace.

v. 499. metely wele] See note, p. 270. v. 2196.

Page 382. v. 502. a kyby hele] See note, p. 174. v. 493.

v. 503. salfecundight] i. e. safe-conduct.

v. 504. lokyd ... a fals quarter]—lokyd, i. e. looked: “The false quarters is a soreness on the inside of the hoofs, which are commonly called quarters, which is as much as to say, crased unsound quarters, which comes from evil Shooing and paring the Hoof.” R. Holme’s Ac. of Armory, 1688. B. ii. p. 152.

v. 505. I pray you, a lytyll tyne stande back] So Heywood;

v. 514. the ballyuis of the v portis] i. e. the bailiffs of the Cinque Ports.

v. 519. besines] i. e. business.

v. 520. most] i. e. must.

v. 521. maystres] i. e. mistress.

v. 523. sufferayne] i. e. sovereign.

v. 525. And we shall se you ageyne or it be pryme] I have my doubts about what hour is here meant by pryme. Concerning that word see Du Cange’s Gloss. in Prima and Horæ Canonicæ, Tyrwhitt’s Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales, Sibbald’s Gloss. to Chron. of Scot. Poetry, and Sir F. Madden’s Gloss. to Syr Gawayne, &c.

Page 383. v. 531. kest ... loke] i. e. cast ... look.

v. 532. boke] i. e. book.

v. 537. supprysed] i. e. overpowered, smitten.

v. 541. the port salu] See note, p. 299. v. 1262.

v. 547. hertely as herte] i. e. heartily as heart.

v. 548. hole] i. e. whole.

v. 550. aquyte] i. e. discharge, pay.

Page 384. v. 554. moche] i. e. much.

v. 555. Affyaunsynge her myne hole assuraunce] i. e. Pledging her my whole, &c.

v. 559. stonde] i. e. stand.

v. 560. toke ... honde] i. e. took ... hand.

v. 566. iangelers] i. e. babblers, chatterers.

v. 570. moche costious] i. e. much costly.

v. 572. the stones be full glint]—glint must mean here—slippery: see note, p. 263. v. 1687.

v. 574. yatis] i. e. gates.

Page 385. v. 585. carectis] i. e. characters.

v. 586. where as I stode] i. e. where I stood.

v. 590. a lybbard] i. e. a leopard.—“There is,” says Warton, who quotes the stanza, “some boldness and animation in the figure and attitude of this ferocious animal.” Hist. of E. P., ii. 352. ed. 4to.

v. 592. As quikly towchyd] i. e. touched, executed, as much to the life.

v. 595. forme foote] i. e. fore-foot.

—— shoke] i. e. shook.

v. 597.

The whole of this “Cacosyntheton ex industria” is beyond my comprehension. Here Skelton has an eye to Juvenal;

v. 601. Spreto spineto cedat saliunca roseto] Here he was thinking of Virgil;

v. 602. loked] i. e. looked.

v. 603. presed] i. e. pressed, thronged.

v. 604. Shet] i. e. Shut.

v. 605. to] i. e. too.

v. 606. astate] i. e. estate, condition.

v. 607. quod] i. e. quoth.

—— haskardis] “Haskerdes went in the queste: not honeste men. Proletarii & capite censi: non classici rem trāsegerunt.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. n iiii. ed. 1530.

who in the Gloss. queries if haskerde mean “dirty fellow? from the Scotch hasky.” The latter word is explained by Jamieson “dirty, slovenly.” Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang.

—— rebawdis] i. e. ribalds.

v. 608. Dysers, carders] Dicers, card-players.

—— gambawdis] i. e. gambols.

Page 386. v. 609. Furdrers of loue] i. e. Furtherers of love—pimps, pandars.

v. 610. blow at the cole] A friend suggests that there is an allusion here to alchemists; but I believe he is mistaken. It is a proverbial expression. So our author again;

The proverb given by Davies of Hereford;

and by Ray, Proverbs, p. 90. ed. 1768, seems to have a quite different meaning.

Page 386. v. 611. kownnage] i. e. coinage,—coining.

v. 612. Pope holy ypocrytis] i. e. Pope-holy hypocrites: see note, p. 230. l. 24 (prose).

—— as they were golde and hole]—hole, i. e. whole. Heywood also has this expression;

v. 613. Powle hatchettis] See note, p. 98. v. 28.

—— ale pole] i. e. pole, or stake, set up before an ale-house by way of sign.

v. 614. brybery, theft] See note, p. 256. v. 1242.

v. 615. condycyons] See note, p. 183. v. 12.

v. 616. folys] i. e. fools.

v. 618. dysdanous dawcokkis] i. e. disdainful simpletons, empty fellows: see note, p. 113. v. 301.

v. 619. fawne thé] i. e. fawn on thee.

—— kurris of kynde] i. e. curs by nature.

v. 620. shrewdly] i. e. evilly.

v. 625. broisid] i. e. bruised, broke.

v. 626. peuysshe] i. e. foolish, silly.

—— porisshly pynk iyde] “Porisshly, as one loketh yᵗ can nat se well, Louchement.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. ccccxliiii. (Table of Aduerbes): pynk iyde, i. e. pink-eyed; “Some haue myghty eyes, and some be pynkeyed ... peti.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. G vi. ed. 1530; and see Nares’s Gloss. in v.

v. 627. aspyid] i. e. espied, marked.

v. 629. a gun stone] After the introduction of iron shot (instead of balls of stone) for heavy artillery, the term gunstone was retained in the sense of—bullet: “Gonne stone, plombee, boulet, bovle de fonte.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xxxvii. (Table of Subst.).

—— all to-iaggid] See notes, p. 100. v. 32. p. 163. v. 124.

v. 630. daggid] See note, p. 163. v. 123.

v. 631. byrnston] i. e. brimstone.

Page 386. v. 632. Masid] i. e. Bewildered, confounded.

—— a scut] “Scut or hare. Lepus.” Prompt. Parv. ed. 1499.

v. 635. dysour] See note, p. 255. v. 1191.

—— a deuyl way] See note, p. 287. v. 672.

Page 387. v. 637. peuisshenes] i. e. foolishness, silliness: compare v. 626.

v. 639. foisty bawdias] See note, p. 192. v. 76.

v. 641. Dasyng after dotrellis, lyke drunkardis that dribbis]—Dasying i. e. gazing with a stupified look: dotrellis; see note, p. 129. v. 409: dribbis, i. e. drip, drivel, slaver.

v. 642. titiuyllis] See note, p. 284. v. 418.

—— taumpinnis] i. e. tampions,—wooden stoppers, put into the mouths of cannon to keep out rain or sea-water. In The foure P. P. by Heywood, the Poticary tells a facetious story about “a thampyon.” Sig. D i. ed. n. d. (Fr. tampon).

v. 643. I hyght you] i. e. I assure you.

v. 644. mone light] i. e. moonlight.

v. 648. wele] i. e. well.

v. 649. auenturis] i. e. adventure.

v. 652. herber] See note, p. 101. v. 13.

v. 653. brere] i. e. briar.

v. 654. With alys ensandid about in compas] “i. e. it was surrounded with sand-walks.” Warton’s Hist. of E. P., ii. 350 (note), ed. 4to. So the garden, in which Chaucer describes Cressid walking, was “sonded all the waies.” Troilus and Creseide, B. ii. fol. 152, —Workes, ed. 1602: and compare Lydgate;

v. 655. with singular solas] i. e. in a particularly pleasant manner.

v. 656. rosers] i. e. rose-bushes.

v. 658. coundight] i. e. conduit.

—— coryously] i. e. curiously. So Lydgate;

v. 662. ensilured again the son beames] i. e. ensilvered against the sunbeams.

Page 388. v. 664. reuolde] i. e. revolved, turned.

v. 669. bet vp a fyre] See note, p. 146. v. 930.

v. 671. flagraunt flower]—flagraunt, i. e. fragrant. Compare v. 978. So Hawes;

Page 388. v. 673. baratows broisiours] i. e. contentious bruisers,—unless (as the context seems rather to shew) broisiours means—bruisures, bruises.

v. 674. passid all bawmys] i. e. surpassed all balms.

v. 676. gardynge] i. e. garden.

—— piplyng] i. e. piping; as in our author’s Replycacion, &c. vol. i. 207. l. 26 (prose).

v. 680. the nyne Muses, Pierides by name] So Chaucer;

v. 681. Testalis] i. e. Thestylis. So Barclay;

v. 682. enbybid] i. e. made wet, soaked.

v. 683. moche solacyous] i. e. much pleasant, mirthful.

v. 686. somer] i. e. summer.

—— fotid] i. e. footed.

v. 687. twynklyng upon his harpe stringis]—twynklyng, i. e. tinkling. So, at a much later period, Dekker; “Thou (most cleare throated singing man,) with thy Harpe, (to the twinckling of which inferior Spirits skipt like Goates ouer the Welsh mountaines),” &c. A Knights Coniuring, 1607. sig. D 2.

Page 389. v. 688. And Iopas, &c.] Here, and in the next two stanzas, Skelton has an eye to Virgil;

—— auaunce] i. e. advance.

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

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

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

—— chere] i. e. countenance, look.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—— to] i. e. too.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—— preste] i. e. ready.

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

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

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

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

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

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

v. 799. botowme] “I can make no bottoms of this threde ... glomera.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. t i. ed 1530.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

v. 817.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

v. 833. gabyll rope] i. e. cable-rope. “A Gable, Rudens.” Coles’s Dict.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

v. 852.

It is plain that Skelton, while writing these complimentary stanzas, consulted Boccaccio De Claris Mulieribus: there this lady is called Thamyris (see, in that work, “De Thamyri Pictrice,” cap. liiii. ed. 1539). Her name is properly Timarete; she was daughter to Mycon the painter; vide Plinii Nat. Hist.: honde, i. e. hand: diuisis, i. e. devices.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

v. 871. Creisseid] See Chaucer’s Troilus and Creseide.

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

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

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

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

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

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

and Barclay;

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

Page 397. v. 885.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

v. 933.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

She figures in the Storye of Thebes by the same indefatigable versifier, who there says,

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

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

“Item to the frenche quenes seruaunt, that brought a pomaunder of gold to the princes, in Re[ward

xx. s.”

(9th year of reign).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

v. 1076.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

and Sir F. Madden explains the word “white or grey” in his Gloss. to Syr Gawayne, &c., referring to the line “Of golde, azure, and byse” in Syre Gawene and The Carle of Carelyle, p. 204. But we also find “Byce a colour azur.” Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530. fol. xx. (Table of Subst.). “Scryueners wryte with blacke, red, purple, grene, blewe or byce, and suche other.” Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. Q i. ed. 1530. “Bize Blew Byze, a delicate Blew.” Holme’s Acad. of Arm., 1688. B. iii. p. 145.

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

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

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

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

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

v. 1163. garnysshyd] }

...

v. 1165. bullyons] }

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

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

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

v. 1167. aurum musicum] i. e. aurum musaicum or musivum,—mosaic gold.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

v. 1188.

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

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

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

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

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

v. 1202. Lor] A corruption of Lord.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

v. 1219.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Such a present seems to have been not uncommon;

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

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

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

v. 1247.

In vol. i. 171.

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

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

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

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

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

a recollection perhaps of Skelton’s lost ballad.

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

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

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

—— hart rote] i. e. heart-root.

v. 1381. Moyses hornis] So Lydgate;

“Cumque descenderet Moyses de monte Sinai ... ignorabat quod cornuta esset facies sua ex consortio sermonis Domini.” Vulgate,—Exod. xxxiv. 29.

v. 1382. merely, medelyd] i. e. merrily, mingled.

v. 1383. Of paiauntis that were played in Ioyows Garde] Bale, in his enumeration of Skelton’s writings, alluding to this line (as is evident from his arrangement of the pieces), gives “Theatrales ludos.” Script. Illust. Bryt. p. 652. ed. 1557: and Mr. J. P. Collier states that “one of Skelton’s earlier works had been a series of pageants, ‘played in Joyous Garde,’ or Arthur’s Castle.” Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poet. ii. 142. But, assuredly, in the present line, paiauntis, i. e. pageants, means nothing of a dramatic nature. The expression to “play a pageant” has occurred several times already in our author’s poems; “I haue played my pageyond” (my part on the stage of life), see note, p. 88. v. 85; “Suche pollyng paiaunttis ye pley” (such thievish pranks), see note, p. 189. v. 190: and though it may be doubted whether the paiauntis that were played in Ioyows Garde,—i. e. in the Castle of Sir Launcelot, according to the romances,—are to be understood as connected with feats of arms, I cite the following passage in further illustration of the expression; “The fyrste that was redy to Juste was sir Palomydes and sir Kaynus le straunge a knyghte of the table round. And soo they two encountred to gyders, but sire Palomydes smote sir Kaynus soo hard that he smote hym quyte ouer his hors croupe, and forth with alle sir Palomydes smote doune another knyght and brake thenne his spere & pulled oute his swerd and did wonderly wel. And thenne the noyse beganne gretely vpon sir palomydes. Ioo said Kynge Arthur yonder palomydes begynneth to play his pagent. So god me help said Arthur he is a passynge good knyght. And ryght as they stood talkyng thus, in came sir Tristram as thonder, and he encountred with syre Kay the Seneschall, and there he smote hym doune quyte from his hors, and with that same spere sir Tristram smote doune thre knyghtes moo, and thenne he pulled oute his swerd and dyd merueyllously. Thenne the noyse and crye chaunged from syr Palomydes and torned to sir Tristram and alle the peple cryed O Tristram, O Tristram. And thenne was sir Palomydes clene forgeten. How now said Launcelot vnto Arthur, yonder rydeth a knyght that playeth his pagents.” Morte d’Arthur, B. x. cap. lxxix. vol. ii. 140. ed. Southey.

Page 416. v. 1384. wrate] i. e. wrote.

—— muse] See note, p. 234. v. 212.

v. 1385. do] i. e. doe.

v. 1386. parker ... with all] i. e. park-keeper ... withal.

v. 1387. Castell Aungell] “And the pope fled unto Castle Angell.” Cavendish’s Life of Wolsey, p. 143. ed. 1827.

—— fenestrall] In Palsgrave’s Lesclar. de la Lang. Fr., 1530, we find “Fenestrall chassis de toille ou de paupier.” fol. xxxiii. (Table of Subst.); and in Hormanni Vulgaria, “Paper, or lyn clothe, straked a crosse, with losynges: make fenestrals in stede of glasen wyndowes.” Sig. v ii: but see the next lines of our text.

v. 1389. eyn dasild and dasid]—eyn, i. e. eyes: dasid, i. e. dulled.

v. 1390. The Repete of the recule of Rosamundis bowre]—Repete, i. e. Repetition, Recital: recule; see note on v. 1187. p. 327.

v. 1392. propre] i. e. pretty.

—— ieloffer flowre] See note, p. 147. v. 1052.

v. 1393. to reckeles] i. e. too reckless.

v. 1396. Mok there loste her sho] A proverbial expression, which occurs again in our author’s Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 83. vol. ii. 29: in his Colyn Cloute we find

v. 1397. barbican] “A Barbican, antemurale, promurale, tormentorum bellicorum sedes, locus.” Coles’s Dict. “It was generally,” says Nares (referring to King on Anc. Castles, Archael.), “a small round tower, for the station of an advanced guard, placed just before the outward gate of the castle yard, or ballium.” Gloss. in v. And see Richardson’s Dict. in v.

Page 416. v. 1398. sawte] i. e. assault.

v. 1399. blo] i. e. livid: see note, p. 103. v. 3.

v. 1400. Of Exione, her lambis, &c.] See note ad loc. If the reader understands the line, it is more than I do.

Page 417. v. 1407. forster] i. e. forester.

v. 1409. to yerne and to quest] Coles renders both these hunting-terms by the same word, “nicto” (i. e. open, give tongue). Dict. Turbervile, enumerating “the sundry noyses of houndes,” tells us that “when they are earnest eyther in the chace or in the earth, we say They yearne.” Noble Art of Venerie, &c. p. 242. ed. 1611. “Quest, united cry of the hounds.” Sir F. Madden’s Gloss. to Syr Gawayne, &c.

v. 1410. With litell besynes standith moche rest]

v. 1411. make] i. e. mate, wife.

v. 1412. ble] i. e. colour, complexion.

v. 1413. wele] i. e. well.

v. 1416. Some] i. e. Soham.

v. 1418. Wofully arayd] In vol. i. 141.

v. 1419. making] i. e. composing.

v. 1420. Vexilla regis] In vol. i. 144.

v. 1421. Sacris solemniis] As the still-extant piece mentioned in the preceding line, and headed Vexilla regis, &c., is not a translation of that hymn, so we may with probability conclude that this was not a version of the hymn beginning “Sacris solemniis juncta sint gaudia,” which may be found in Hymni Ecclesiæ e Breviario Parisiensi, 1838. p. 94.

v. 1424. sadnes] i. e. seriousness.

v. 1425. Galiene }

v. 1426. Ipocras }

i. e. Galen, Hippocrates.

—— Auycen] An Arabian physician of the tenth century.

Page 418. v. 1428. Albumasar] See note, p. 133. v. 501.

—— ken] i. e. instruct (pleonastically coupled with “enforme,” as in v. 825).

v. 1430. gose] i. e. goose.

v. 1432. ageyne] i. e. against.

v. 1433. Dun is in the myre] A proverbial expression, which occurs in Chaucer’s Manciples Prol. v. 16954. ed. Tyrwhitt (who conjectured that Dun was a nickname given to the ass from his colour), and is common in writers long after the time of Skelton. Gifford was the first to shew that the allusion is to a Christmas gambol, in which Dun (the cart-horse) is supposed to be stuck in the mire; see his note on Jonson’s Works, vii. 283.

v. 1434. rin] i. e. run.

v. 1435. spar the stable dur] i. e. fasten, shut the stable-door; see note, p. 207. v. 91.

v. 1437. sone aspyed] i. e. soon espied.

v. 1438. wele wotith] i. e. well knoweth.

v. 1439. lucerne] i. e. lamp. So in the Lenvoye to Chaucer’s Cuckow and Nightingale;

v. 1442. wedder] i. e. weather.

v. 1443. cokwolde] i. e. cuckold.

v. 1445. vntwynde] See note, p. 127. v. 284.

v. 1446. ieloffer] See note, p. 147. v. 1052.

v. 1447. propre] i. e. pretty.

v. 1450. all to-fret] i. e. altogether eaten up, consumed: see note, p. 100. v. 32.

Page 419. v. 1451.

This proverbial expression occurs in Lydgate;

v. 1454. byll] i. e. writing.

v. 1455. By Mary Gipcy] In much later writers we find, as an interjection, marry gep, marry gip, marry guep, marry gup. v. 1456. Quod scripsi, scripsi] From the Vulgate, Joan. xix. 22.

Page 419. v. 1460. Secundum Lucam, &c.] Skelton seems to allude to the Vulgate, Luc. i. 13, “Et uxor tua Elizabeth,” &c.

v. 1461.

The college of the Bonhommes, completed in 1285, was founded by Edmund, Earl of Cornwall, son and heir of Richard, Earl of Cornwall, who was King of the Romans and brother of Henry the Third, for a rector and twenty brethern or canons, of whom thirteen were to be priests. It was founded expressly in honour of the blood of Jesus, (“the sank royall”), which had once formed part of the precious reliques belonging to the German emperors, and which Edmund had brought over from Germany to England. See Todd’s History of the College of Bonhommes at Ashridge, 1823. p. 1-3.

The pretended blood of Christ drew to Ashridge many persons of all ranks, greatly to the enrichment of the society. “But,” Speed tells us, “when the sunne-shine of the Gospell had pierced thorow such cloudes of darkenesse, it was perceiued apparantly to be onely hony clarified and coloured with Saffron, as was openly shewed at Paules Crosse by the Bishop of Rochester, the twentie foure of Februarie, and yeare of Christ 1538.” A Prospect of The Most Famous Parts of the World, 1631, (in Buck. p. 43).

v. 1466. Fraxinus in clivo, &c.] “As to the name Ashridge” says Kennett, “it is no doubt from a hill set with Ashes; the old word was Aescrugge, Rugge, as after Ridge, signifying a hill or steep place, and the Ashen-tree being first Aesc, as after Ashche, &c.” Parochial Antiquities, p. 302. ed. 1695.

v. 1470. The Nacyoun of Folys] Most probably The Boke of Three Fooles, in vol. i. 199.

v. 1471. Apollo that whirllid vp his chare] Concerning the piece, of which these were the initial words, a particular notice will be found in The Account of Skelton and his Writings: chare, i. e. chariot; compare the first of the two lines, which in the old eds. and some MSS. of Chaucer stand as the commencement of a third part of The Squieres Tale;

and the opening of The Floure and the Leafe;

See also Poems by C. Duke of Orleans, MS. Harl. 682. fol. 47.

v. 1472. snurre] i. e. snort.

Page 420. v. 1475. mell] i. e. meddle.

v. 1477. stode] i. e. stood.

v. 1478. Suppleyng] i. e. Supplicating.

v. 1480. bokis ... rase] i. e. books ... erase.

v. 1483. rin] i. e. run.

v. 1487. take it in gre] i. e. take it kindly: see note, p. 95. v. 68.

v. 1490. ragman rollis] The collection of deeds in which the Scottish nobility and gentry were compelled to subscribe allegiance to Edward I. of England in 1296, and which were more particularly recorded in four large rolls of parchment, &c., was known by the name of Ragman’s Roll: but what has been written on the origin of this expression appears to be so unsatisfactory that I shall merely refer the reader to Cowel’s Law Dictionary, &c., ed. 1727, in v., Jamieson’s Et. Dict. of Scot. Lang. in v., Nares’s Gloss. in v., Gloss. to The Towneley Myst. in v., and Todd’s Johnson’s Dict. in v. Rigmarole.

v. 1491. lenger] i. e. longer.

v. 1495. Counforte] i. e. Comfort.

v. 1498.

—fresshe, i. e. elegant: see note, p. 302. v. 39. This translation from the Latin of Poggio is mentioned with praise in Caxton’s Preface to The Boke of Eneydos, &c. 1490, and is still preserved in MS. among Parker’s Collection, in Corpus Ch. College, Cambridge: see Account of Skelton and his Writings, and Appendix ii.

Page 421. v. 1505. dome] i. e. judgment, thinking.

v. 1507. the noyse went to Rome] So Chaucer;

v. 1508. shoke] i. e. shook.

v. 1510. shett ... boke] i. e. shut ... book.

v. 1512. somdele] i. e. somewhat.

v. 1514. sperycall] i. e. spherical.

v. 1515. Ianus, with his double chere]—chere, i. e. visage, countenance.

v. 1517. He turnyd his tirikkis, his voluell ran fast] What is meant by tirikkis, I know not: it occurs again in our author’s Speke, Parrot;

For the following note I am indebted to W. H. Black, Esq. “The volvell is an instrument, called volvella or volvellum, in the Latin of the middle age, consisting of graduated and figured circles drawn on the leaf of a book, to the centre of which is attached one moveable circle or more, in the form of what is called a geographical clock. There is a very fine one, of the fourteenth century, in the Ashmolean MS. 789. f. 363, and others exist in that collection, which affords likewise, in an Introduction to the Knowledge of the Calendar, (in the MS. 191. iv. art. 2. f. 199,) written in old English of the fifteenth century, a curious description of the volvell, with directions for its use. The passage is entitled ‘The Rewle of the Volvelle.’—‘Now folowith here the volvelle, that sum men clepen a lunarie; and thus most ghe governe ghou ther ynne. First take the grettist cercle that is maad in the leef, for that schewith the 24 houris of the day naturel, that is of the nyght and day, of the whiche the firste houre is at noon bitwene 12 and oon. Thanne above him is another cercle, that hathe write in hem the 12 monthis withe here dayes, and 12 signes with here degrees; and with ynne that, ther is writen a rewle to knowe whanne the sunne ariseth and the mone bothe; if ghe biholde weel these noumbris writen in reed, 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. ✠. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.’ The rule proceeds to shew that there is another row of the same figures in black, and that the red cross stands in the place of Cancer, the black at Capricorn: the red figures were used to shew the rising of the sun and moon, the black for their setting. Over this is ‘another cercle that hath a tunge,’ (tongue, or projecting angle to point with,) the figure of the sun on it, and 29½ days figured, for the age of the moon. Upon this is the least circle, ‘which hath a tunge with the figure of the moon on it, and with ynne it is an hole, the whiche schewith bi symylitude howe the moone wexith and wansith.’ It was used by setting ‘the tunge of the moone’ to the moon’s age, and ‘the tunge of the sunne’ to the day of the month, then moving the circle of months and signs to bring the hour of the day to the last named ‘tunge,’ whereby might be found ‘in what signe he’ (the moon, masculine in Anglo-Saxon) ‘sittith and the sunne also, and in what tyme of the day thei arisen, eny of hem, either goone downe, and what it is of the watir, whether it be flood or eb.’ The rule concludes by observing that the wind sometimes alters the time of the tide ‘at Londone brigge.’”

Page 422. v. 1533. quaire] i. e. quire,—pamphlet, book.

v. 1536. wrate] i. e. wrote.

Page 422. v. 1542. warkis] i. e. works.

v. 1546. loke] i. e. look.

v. 1547. boke] i. e. book.

v. 1552. brede] i. e. breadth.

Page 423. v. 1556. harnnes] i. e. armour.

v. 1558. ageyne] i. e. against.

v. 1563. derayne] i. e. contest.

v. 1569. curteisly] i. e. courteously.

v. 1575. sad] See note, p. 264. v. 1711.

v. 1581. Any worde defacid] i. e. Any disfigured, deformed, unseemly word.

v. 1582. rasid] i. e. erased.

Page 424.—— Lautre Enuoy, &c.] Concerning this curious Envoy, see Account of Skelton and his Writings.

v. 1597. sekernes] i. e. security, sureness.

v. 1598. rede] i. e. conceive, consider.

Page 426. v. 5. kepe] i. e. heed, regard, care.

v. 7. Gone to seke hallows]—hallows, i. e. saints.

But “to seek hallows” seems to have been a proverbial expression;

Page 427. v. 13. withholde] i. e. withheld.

v. 14. sayne] i. e. say.

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