Chapter III: Part 3

_a pulled hen_, lit. a plucked hen; hence, the value of a hen without its feathers; see l. 652. In D. 1112, the phrase is 'not worth a _hen_.' Tyrwhitt says, 'I do not see much force in the epithet _pulled_'; but adds, in his Glossary--'I have been told since, that a hen whose feathers are pulled, or plucked off, will not lay any eggs.' Becon speaks of a 'polled hen,' i. e. pulled hen, as one unable to fly; Works, p. 533; Parker Soc. It is only one of the numerous old phrases for expressing that a thing is of small value. See l. 182. I may add that _pulled_, in the sense of 'plucked off the feathers,' occurs in the Manciple's Tale; H. 304. And see Troil. v. 1546.

_text_, remark in writing; the word was used of any written statement that was frequently quoted. The allusion is to the legend of Nimrod, 'the mighty hunter' (Gen. x. 9), which described him as a very bad man. 'Mikel he cuth [much he knew] o sin and scham'; Cursor Mundi, l. 2202. It was he (it was said) who built the tower of Babel, and introduced idolatry and fire-worship. All this has ceased to be familiar, and the allusion has lost its point. 'We enjoin that a priest be not a hunter, nor a hawker, nor a dicer'; Canons of King Edgar, translated; no. 64. See my note to P. Plowman, C. vi. 157. [22]

179. _recchelees_ (in MS. E.) means careless, regardless of rule; but 'a careless monk' is not necessarily 'a monk out of his cloister.' But the reading _cloisterless_ (in MS. Harl.) solves the difficulty; being _a coined word_, Chaucer goes on to explain it in l. 181. See the quotation from Jehan de Meung in the next note.

179-81. This passage, says Tyrwhitt, 'is attributed by Gratian (_Decretal._ P. ii. Cau. xvi. q. l. c. viii.) to a pope Eugenius: _Sicut piscis sine aqua caret vita, ita sine monasterio monachus._' Joinville says, 'The Scriptures do say that a monk cannot live out of his cloister without falling into deadly sins, any more than a fish can live out of water without dying.' Cf. Piers Plowman, B. x. 292; and my note.

Wyclif (Works, ed. Matthew), p. 449, has a similar remark:--'For, as they seyn that groundiden [_founded_] these cloystris, thes men myghten no more dwelle out ther-of than fizs myghte dwelle out of water, for vertu that they han ther-ynne.' The simile is very old; in The Academy, Nov. 29, 1890, Prof. Albert Cook traced it back to Sozomen, Eccl. Hist. bk. i. c. 13 (Migne, Patr. Graec. 67. 898):--[Greek: tous men gar ichthuas elege tên hugran ousian trephein, monachois de kosmon pherein tên erêmon. episês te tous men xêras aptomenous to zên apolimpanein, tous de tên monastikên semnotêta apolluein tois astesi prosiontas.] And in The Academy, Dec. 6, 1890, Mr. H. Ellershaw, of Durham, shewed that it occurs still earlier, in the Life of St. Anthony (c. 85) attributed to St. Athanasius, not later than A.D. 373:--[Greek: hôsper hoi ichthues enchronizontes têi xêrai gêi teleutôsin; houtôs hoi monachoi bradunontes meth' humôn kai par' humin endiatribontes ekluontai.]

Moreover, the poet was thinking of a passage in Le Testament de Jehan de Meung, ed. Méon, l. 1166:--

'Qui les voldra trover, si les quiere en leur cloistre ...
Car ne prisent le munde la montance d'une oistre.'

i. e. 'whoever would find them, let him seek them in their cloister; for they do not prize the world at the value of an oyster.' Chaucer turns this passage just the other way about.

182. _text_, remark, saying (as above, in l. 177). _held_, esteemed.

183. 'And _I_ said.' This is a very realistic touch; as if Chaucer had been talking to the monk, obtaining his opinions, and professing to agree with them.

184. _What_ has here its earliest sense of _wherefore_, or _why_.

_wood_, mad, foolish, is frequently employed by Spenser; A. S. _w[=o]d_.

186. _swinken_, to toil; whence '_swinked_ hedger,' used by Milton (Comus, l. 293). But _swinken_ is, properly, a strong verb; A. S. _swincan_, pt. t. _swanc_, pp. _swuncen_. Hence _swink_, s., toil; l. 188.

187. _bit_, the 3rd pers. sing. pres. of _bidden_, to command. So also _rit_, rideth, A. 974, 981; _fynt_, findeth, A. 4071; _rist_, riseth, A. 4193; _stant_, standeth, B. 618; _sit_, sitteth, D. 1657; _smit_, smiteth, E. 122; _hit_, hideth, F. 512.

187, 188. _Austin_, St. Augustine. The reference is to St. Augustine [23] of Hippo, after whom the Augustinian Canons were named. Their rule was compiled from his writings. Thus we read that 'bothe monks and chanouns forsaken the reules of Benet and Austyn'; Wyclif's Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 511. And again--'Seynt Austyn techith munkis _to labore with here hondis_, and so doth seint Benet and seynt Bernard'; Wyclif's Works, ed. Matthew, p. 51. See Cutts, Scenes and Characters, &c.; ch. ii. and ch. iii.

189. _a pricasour_, a hard rider. _priking_, hard riding (l. 191).

190. Cf. 'Also fast so the fowl in flyght'; Ywaine and Gawin, 630.

192. _for no cost_, for no expense. Dr. Morris explains _for no cost_ by 'for no reason,' and certainly M. E. _cost_ sometimes has such a force; but see ll. 213, 799, where it clearly means 'expense.'

193. _seigh_, saw; A. S. _s[=e]ah_, pt. t. of _s[=e]on_, to see.

_purfiled_, edged with fur. The M. E. _purfil_ signifies the embroidered or furred hem of a garment, so that _purfile_ is to work upon the edge. _Purfiled_ has also a more extended meaning, and is applied to garments overlaid with gems or other ornaments. '_Pourfiler d'or_, to _purfle_, tinsell, or overcast with gold thread,' &c.: Cotgrave. Spenser uses _purfled_ in the Fairy Queene, i. 2. 13; ii. 3. 26. Cf. note to P. Plowman, C. iii. 10.

194. _grys_, a sort of costly grey fur, formerly very much esteemed; O. F. _gris_, Rom. de la Rose, 9121, 9307; Sir Tristrem, l. 1381. 'The _grey_ is the back-fur of the northern squirrel'; L. Gautier, Chivalry (Eng. tr.), p. 323. Such a dress as is here described must have been very expensive. In 1231 (Close Roll, 16 Hen. III.), king Henry III. had a skirt (_iupa_) of scarlet, furred with red _gris_. See Gloss. to Liber Custumarum, ed. Riley, s. v. _griseum_, p. 806.

In Lydgate's Dance of Macabre, the Cardinal is made to regret--

'That I shal never hereafter clothed be
In _grise_ nor ermine, _like unto my degree_.'

The Council of London (1342) reproaches the religious orders with wearing clothing 'fit rather for knights than for clerks, that is to say, short, very tight, with excessively wide sleeves, not reaching the elbows, but hanging down very low, lined with fur or with silk'; see J. Jusserand, English Wayfaring Life (1889). Cf. Wyclif, Works, ed. Matthew, p. 121.

'This worshipful man, this dene, came rydynge into a good paryssh with a x. or xii. horses _lyke a prelate_'; Caxton, Fables of Æsop, &c.; last fable; cf. l. 204 below.

196. 'He had an elaborate brooch, made of gold, with a love-knot in the larger end.' _love-knotte_, a complicated twist, with loops.

198. _balled_, bald. See Specimens of Early English, ii. 15. 408.

199. _anoint_, anointed; O. F. _enoint_, Lat. _inunctus_.

200. _in good point_, in good case, imitated from the O. F. _en bon point_. Cotgrave has: '_En bon poinct_, ou, _bien en poinct_, handsome: faire, fat, well liking, in good taking.' [24]

201. _stepe_, E. E. _steap_, does not here mean _sunken_, but _bright_, burning, fiery. Mr. Cockayne has illustrated the use of this word in his Seinte Marherete, pp. 9, 108: 'His twa ehnen [semden] _steappre_ þene steorren,' his two eyes seemed _brighter_ than stars. So also: 'schininde and schenre, of [gh]imstanes _steapre_ then is eni steorre,' shining and clearer, brighter with gems than is any star; St. Katherine, l. 1647. The expression 'eyen gray and _stepe_,' i. e. bright, has already been quoted in the note to l. 152. So also 'Eyyen _stepe_ and graye'; King of Tars, l. 15 (in Ritson, Met. Rom. ii. 157); and again, 'thair een _steep_'; Palladius on Husbandry, bk. iv. l. 800. Cf. _stemed_ in the next line; and see l. 753.

202. _stemed as a forneys of a leed_, shone like the fire under a cauldron. Here _stemed_ is related to the M. E. _st[=e]m_, a bright light, used in Havelok, 591. Cf. 'two _stemyng_ eyes,' two bright eyes; Sir T. Wiat, Sat. i. 53. _That_ refers to _eyen_, not to _heed_.

A kitchen-copper is still sometimes called a _lead_. As to the word _leed_, which is the same as the modern E. _lead_ (the metal), Mr. Stevenson, in his edition of the Nottingham Records, iii. 493, observes--'That these vessels were really made of _lead_ we have ample evidence'; and refers us to the Laws of Æthelstán, iv. 7 (Schmid, Anhang, xvi. § 1); &c. He adds--'The _lead_ was frequently fixed, like a modern domestic copper, over a grate. The grate and flue were known as a _furnace_. Hence the frequent expression--_a lead in furnace_.' See also _led_ in Havelok, l. 924; and _lead_ in Tusser's Husbandrie, E. D. S.

203. _botes souple_, boots pliable, soft, and close-fitting.

'This is part of the description of a smart abbot, by an anonymous writer of the thirteenth century: "Ocreas habebat in cruribus quasi innatae essent, sine plica porrectas."--MS. Bodley, James, no. 6. p. 121.'--T. See Rom. of the Rose, 2265-70 (vol. i. p. 173).

205. _for-pyned_, 'tormented,' and hence 'wasted away'; from _pine_. The _for-_ is intensive, as in Eng. _forswear_.

THE FRERE.

208. _Frere_, friar. The four orders of mendicant friars mentioned in l. 210 were:--(1) The Dominicans, or friars-preachers, who took up their abode in Oxford in 1221, known as the Black Friars. (2) The Franciscans, founded by St. Francis of Assisi in 1209, and known by the name of Grey Friars. They made their first appearance in England in 1224. (3) The Carmelites, or White Friars. (4) The Augustin (or Austin) Friars. The friar was popular with the mercantile classes on account of his varied attainments and experience. 'Who else so welcome at the houses of men to whom scientific skill and information, scanty as they might be, were yet of no inconsiderable service and attraction. He alone of learned and unlearned possessed some knowledge of foreign countries and their productions; he alone was acquainted with the composition and decomposition of bodies, with the art of distillation, [25] with the construction of machinery, and with the use of the laboratory.' See Professor Brewer's Preface to Monumenta Franciscana, p. xlv; and, in particular, the poem called 'Pierce the Ploughman's Crede,' and the satirical piece against the Friars entitled Jack Upland, formerly printed with Chaucer's Works. Several pieces against them will also be found in Political Poems, ed. Wright (Record Series); and there are numerous outspoken attacks upon them in Wyclif's various works, as, e.g. in the Select Eng. Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 366, and in his Works, ed. Matthew, p. 47. See also the chapter on Friars in the E. translation of Jusserand, Eng. Wayfaring Life; p. 293.

Many of the remarks concerning the Frere are ultimately due to Le Roman de la Rose. See The Romaunt of the Rose, ll. 6161-7698; in vol. i. pp. 234-259.

_wantown_, sometimes written _wantowen_, literally signifies untrained, and hence wild, brisk, lively. _wan-_ is a common M. E. prefix, equivalent to our _un-_ or _dis-_, as in _wanhope_, despair; _towen_ or _town_ occurs in M. E. writers for well-behaved, well-taught; from A. S. _togen_, pp. of _t[=e]on_, to educate.

_merye_, pleasant; cf. M. E. _mery wether_, pleasant weather.

209. _limitour_ was a begging friar to whom was assigned a certain district or _limit_, within which he was permitted to solicit alms; it was also his business to solicit persons to purchase a partnership, or _brotherhood_, in the merits of their conventual services. See Tyndale's Works, i. 212 (Parker Soc.); and note to P. Plowman, B. v. 138. Hence in later times the verb _limit_ signifies to beg.

'Ther walketh now the _limitour_ himself,
In undermeles and in morweninges;
And seyth his matins and his holy thinges
As he goth in his _limitacioun_.'
Wife of Bath's Tale; D. 874.

210. _ordres foure_, four orders (note to l. 208). _can_, i. e. 'knows.'

211. _daliaunce and fair langage_, gossip and flattery. _daliaunce_ in M. E. signifies 'tittle-tattle' or 'gossip.' The verb _dally_ signifies not only to loiter or idle, but to play, sport. Godefroy gives O. F. '_dallier_, v. a., railler.'

212. 'He had, at his own expense, well married many young women.' This is less generous than might appear; for it almost certainly refers to young women who had been his concubines. As Dr. Furnivall remarks in his Temporary Preface, p. 118--'the true explanation lies in the following extract from a letter of Dr. Layton to Cromwell, in 1535 A. D., in Mr. Thos. Wright's edition of Letters on the Suppression of the Monasteries (Camden Soc.), p. 58: [At Maiden Bradley, near Bristol] "is an holy father prior, and hath but vj. children, and but one dowghter mariede yet of the goodes of the monasterie, trystyng shortly to mary the reste. His sones be tall men, waittyng upon him; and he thankes Gode a never medelet with marytt women, [26] but all with madens, the faireste cowlde be gottyn, and _always marede them ryght well_."'

214. _post_, pillar or support, as in Troil. i. 1000. See Gal. ii. 9.

216. _frankeleyns_, wealthy farmers; see l. 331. _over-al_, everywhere.

217. _worthy_, probably 'wealthy'; or else, 'respectable.' Cf. l. 68.

219. The word _mór-e _occupies the fourth foot in the line; cf. n. to l. 320. It is an adj., with the sense of 'greater.'

220. _licentiat._ He had a licence from the Pope 'to hear confessions, &c., in all places, independently of the local ordinaries.'--T. The _curate_, or parish priest, could not grant absolution in all cases, some of which were reserved for the bishop's decision. See Wyclif's Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 394.

224. _wiste to han_, knew (he was sure) to have.

_pitaunce_ here signifies a mess of victuals. It originally signified an extraordinary allowance of victuals given to monastics, in addition to their usual commons, and was afterwards applied to the whole allowance of food for a single person, or to a small portion of anything.

225. 'For the giving (of gifts) to a poor order.' _povre_, O. F. _povre_, poor; cf. _pover-ty_. See _pov-re_ in l. 232.

226. _y-shrive_ = _y-shriven_, confessed, _shriven_. The final _n_ is dropped; cf. _unknowe_ for _unknowen_ in l. 126.

227. _he dorste_, he durst make (it his) boast, i. e. confidently assert.

_avaunt_, a boast, is from the O. F. vb. _avanter_, to boast, an intensive form of _vanter_, whence E. _vaunt_.

230. _he may not_, he is not able to. _him sore smerte_, it may pain him, or grieve him, sorely.

232. _Men moot_, one ought to. Here _moot_ is singular; cf. l. 149.

233. _tipet_, a loose hood, which seems to have been used as a pocket. 'When the Order [of Franciscans] degenerated, the friar combined with the spiritual functions the occupation of pedlar, huxter, mountebank, and quack doctor.' (Brewer.) 'Thei [the friars] becomen pedderis [pedlars], berynge knyues, pursis, pynnys, and girdlis, and spices, and sylk, and precious pellure and forrouris [_sorts of fur_] for wymmen, and therto smale gentil hondis [_dogs_], to gete love of hem, and to haue many grete yiftis for litil good or nought.'--Wyclif's Works, ed. Matthew, p. 12. As to the _tipet_, cf. notes to ll. 682, 3953.

In an old poem printed in Brewer's Monumenta Franciscana, we have the following allusion to the dealings of the friar:--

'For thai have noght to lyve by, they wandren here and there,
And dele with dyvers marche, right as thai pedlers were;
Thei dele with pynnes and knyves,
With gyrdles, gloves for wenches and wyves,
Ther thai are haunted till.'

In a poem in MS. Camb., Ff. 1. 6, fol. 156, it is explained that the limitour craftily gives 'pynnys, gerdyllis, and knyeffis' to wommen, in order to receive better things in return. He could get knives for [27] less than a penny a-piece. Cf. 'De j. doss. cultellorum dict. penyware. xd.'; York Wills, iii. 96.

Women used to wear knives sheathed and suspended from their girdles; such knives were often given to a bride. See the chapter on _Bride-knives_ in Brand's Popular Antiquities.

_farsed_, stuffed; from F. _farcir_. Cf. E. _farce_.

236. _rote_ is a kind of fiddle or 'crowd,' not a hurdy-gurdy, as it is explained by Ritson, and in the glossary to Sir Tristrem. Cf. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 10. 3; iv. 9. 6; Sir Degrevant, l. 37 (see Halliwell's note, at p. 289 of the Thornton Romances). See my Etym. Dictionary.

237. _yeddinges_, songs embodying some popular tales or romances. In Sir Degrevant, l. 1421, we are told that a lady 'song yeddyngus,' i. e. sang songs. For singing such songs, he was in the highest estimation. From A. S. _geddian_, to sing. Cf. P. Plowman, A. i. 138:--'Ther thou art murie at thy mete, whon me biddeth the _yedde_.'

_prys_ answers both to E. _prize_ and _price_; cf. l. 67.

239. _champioun_, champion; i. e. a professional fighter in judicial lists. Cf. P. Plowman, C. xxi. 104; and see Britton, liv. i. ch. 23. § 15.

241. _tappestere_, a female tapster. In olden times the retailers of beer, and for the most part the brewers also, appear to have been females. The _-stere_ or _-ster_ as a feminine affix (though in the fourteenth century it is not always or regularly used as such) occurs in M. E. _brewstere_, _webbestere_, Eng. _spinster_. In _huckster_, _maltster_, _songster_, this affix has acquired the meaning of an agent; and in _youngster_, _gamester_, _punster_, &c., it implies contempt. See Skeat, Principles of Etymology, pt. i. § 238. Cf. _beggestere_, female beggar, 242.

242. _Bet_, better, adv.; as distinguished from _bettre_, adj. (l. 524).

_lazar_, a leper; from _Lazarus_, in the parable of Dives and Lazarus; hence _lazaretto_, a hospital for lepers, a lazar-house.

244. 'It was unsuitable, considering his ability.'

246. 'It is not becoming, it may not advance (profit) to deal with (associate with) any such poor people.' Cf. Rom. of the Rose, 6455, 6462; and note to P. Plowman, C. xiii. 21.

247. The line is imperfect in the first foot.

_poraille_, rabble of poor people; from O. F. _povre_, poor.

248. _riche_, i. e. rich people.

249, 250. 'And everywhere, wherever profit was likely to accrue, courteous he was, and humble in offering his services.'

251. _vertuous_, (probably) energetic, efficient; cf. _vertu_ in l. 4.

252, 253. Between these two lines the Hengwrt MS. inserts the two lines marked 252 _b_ and 252 _c_, which are omitted in the other MSS., though they certainly appear to be genuine, and are found in all the black-letter editions, which follow Thynne. In the Six-text edition, which is here followed, they are not counted in. Tyrwhitt both inserts and numbers them; hence a slight difference in the methods of numbering the lines after this line. Tyrwhitt's numbering is given, [28] at every tenth line, within marks of parenthesis, for convenience of reference. The sense is--'And gave a certain annual payment for the grant (to be licensed to beg; in consequence of which) none of his brethren came with his limit.'

_ferme_ is the mod. E. _farm_; cf. 'to _farm_ revenues.'

253. _sho_, shoe; not _sou_ (as has been suggested), which would (in fact) give _a false rime_. So also 'worth his olde _sho_'; D. 708.

The friars were not above receiving even the smallest articles; and _ferthing_, in l. 255, may be explained by 'small article,' of a farthing's value. See l. 134.

'For had a man slayn al his kynne,
Go shryve him at a frere;
And for lasse then _a payre of shone_
He wyl assoil him clene and sone!'
Polit. Poems, ed. Wright; i. 266.

'Ever be giving of somewhat, though it be but a cheese, or a piece of bacon, to the holy order of sweet St. Francis, or to any other of my [i. e. Antichrist's] friars, monks, canons, &c. Holy Church refuseth nothing, but gladly taketh whatsoever cometh.'--Becon's Acts of Christ and of Antichrist, vol. iii. p. 531 (Parker Society). And see the Somp. Tale, D. 1746-1751.

254. _In principio._ The reference is to the text in John i. 1, as proved by a passage from Tyndale (Works, ed. 1572, p. 271, col. 2; or iii. 61, Parker Soc.):--'Such is the limiter's saying of _In principio erat verbum_, from house to house.' Sir Walter Scott copies this phrase in The Fair Maid of Perth, ch. iii. The friars constantly quoted this text.

256. _purchas_ = proceeds of his begging. What he acquired in this way was greater than his _rent_ or income. '_Purchase_, ... any method of acquiring an estate otherwise than by descent'; Blackstone, _Comment._ I. iii. For _rente_, see l. 373.

We find also:

'My purchas is theffect of al my rente'; D. 1451.

'To winne is alway myn entent,
_My purchas is better than my rent_.'
Romaunt of the Rose, l. 6837;

where the F. original has (l. 11760)--'Miex vaut mes porchas que ma rente.'

257. _as it were right_ (E. Hn. &c.); _and pleye as_ (Hl.). The sense is--'and he could romp about, exactly as if he were a puppy-dog.'

258. _love-dayes._ 'Love-days (_dies amoris_) were days fixed for settling differences by umpire, without having recourse to law or violence. The ecclesiastics seem generally to have had the principal share in the management of these transactions, which, throughout the Vision of Piers Ploughman, appear to be censured as the means of hindering justice and of enriching the clergy.'--Wright's Vision of Piers Ploughman, vol. ii. p. 535. [29]

'Ac now is Religion a rydere, and a rennere aboute,
A ledere of _love-dayes_,' &c.

Piers Ploughman, A. xi. 208, ed. Skeat; see also note to P. Pl. ed. Skeat, B. iii. 157. The sense is--'he could give much help on love-days (by acting as umpire).' See ll. 259-261.

As to _loveday_, see Wyclif, Works, ed. Matthew, pp. 172, 234, 512; and the same, Works, ed. Arnold, ii. 77; iii. 322; Paston Letters, ed. Gairdner, i. 496; Titus Andronicus, i. 1. 491. In the Testament of Love, bk. i. (ed. 1561, fol. 287, col. 2) we find--'What (quod she) ... maked I not a _louedaie_ betwene God and mankind, and chese a maide to be nompere [_umpire_], to put the quarell at ende?'

260. _cope_, a priest's vestment; a cloak forming a semicircle when laid flat; the _semi-cope_ (l. 262) was a short cloak or cape. Cf. Pierce the Ploughman's Crede, ll. 227, 228:--

'His _cope_ that biclypped him, wel clene was it folden,
Of _double-worstede_ y-dyght, doun to the hele.'

This line is a little awkward to scan. _With a thred-_ constitutes the first foot; and _povre_ is _povr'_ (cp. mod. F. _pauvre_).

261. 'The kyng or the emperour myghtte with worschipe were a garnement of a frere for goodnesse of the cloth'; Wyclif's Works, ed. Matthew, p. 50.

263. _rounded_, assumed a round form; used intransitively, _presse_, the mould in which a bell is cast; cf. l. 81.

264. _lipsed_, lisped; by metathesis of _s_ and _p_. See footnote to l. 273. _for his wantownesse_, by way of mannerism.

THE MARCHANT.

270. _a forked berd._ In the time of Edward III. _forked beards_ were the fashion among the franklins and bourgeoisie, according to the English custom before the Conquest. See Fairholt's Costume in England, fig. 30.

271. _In mottelee_, in a motley dress; cf. l. 328.

273. _clasped_; fastened with a clasp fairly and neatly. See l. 124.

274. _resons_, opinions. _ful solempnely_, with much importance.

275. 'Always conducing to the increase of his profit.' _souninge_, sounding like, conducing to; cf. l. 307. Compare--'thei chargen more [care more for] a litil thing that _sowneth_ to wynnyng of hem, than a myche more [greater] thing that _sowneth_ to worchip of God'; Wyclif, Works, ed. Arnold, ii. 383. 'These indulgencis ... done mykel harme to Cristen soulis, and _sownen_ erroure ageynes the gospel'; id., iii. 459. Cf. Chaucer's Doctour's Tale, C. 54; also P. Plowman, C. vii. 59, x. 216, xii. 79, xxii. 455. The M. E. sb. _soun_ is from F. _son_, Lat. acc. _sonum_.

276. _were kept_, should be guarded; so that he should not suffer from [30] pirates or privateers. 'The old subsidy of tonnage and poundage was given to the king for the safeguard and custody of the sea 12. Edw. IV. c. 3.'--T.

'The _see_ wel _kept_, it must be don for drede.'
A Libell of English Policie, l. 1083.

In 1360, a commission was granted to John Gibone to proceed, with certain ships of the Cinque Ports, to free the sea from pirates and others, the enemies of the king; Appendix E. to Rymer's Foedera, p. 50.

_for any thing_, i. e. for any sake, at any cost. The A. S. _thing_ is often used in the sense of 'sake,' 'cause,' or 'reason.' _For_ in Chaucer also means 'against,' or 'to prevent,' but not (I think) here.

277. _Middelburgh and Orewelle._ '_Middelburgh_ is still a well-known port of the island of Walcheren, in the Netherlands, almost immediately opposite Harwich, beside which are the estuaries of the rivers Stoure and _Orwell_. This spot was formerly known as the port of _Orwell_ or _Orewelle_.'--Saunders, p. 229.

This mention of Middelburgh 'proves that the Prologue must have been written not before 1384, and not later than 1388. In the year 1384 the wool-staple was removed from Calais and established at Middelburgh; in 1388 it was fixed once more at Calais; see Craik's Hist. of Brit. Commerce, i. 123.'--Hales, Folia Literaria, p. 100. This note has a special importance.

278. 'He well knew how to make a profit by the exchange of his crowns' in the different money-markets of Europe. _Sheeldes_ are crowns (O. F. _escuz_, F. _écus_), named from their having on one side the figure of a shield. They were valued at half a noble, or 3s. 4d.; Appendix E. to Rymer's Foedera, p. 55. See B. 1521.

279. _his wit bisette_, employed his knowledge to the best advantage. _bisette_ = used, employed. Cf. Piers Plowman, ed. Skeat, B. v. 297:--

'And if thow wite (know) nevere to whiche, ne whom to restitue
[the goods gotten wrongfully]
Bere it to the bisschop, and bidde hym, of his grace,
_Bisette_ it hymselue, as best is for thi soule.'

281, 282. 'So ceremoniously (_or_, with such lofty bearing) did he order his bargains and agreements for borrowing money.' A _chevisaunce_ was an agreement for borrowing money on credit; cf. B. 1519; also P. Plowman, B. v. 249, and the note. From F. _chevir_, to accomplish; cf. E. _achieve_.

284. _noot_ = _ne_ + _woot_, know not; so _niste_ = _ne_ + _wiste_, knew not.

THE CLERK.

285. _Clerk_, a university student, a scholar preparing for the priesthood. It also signifies a man of learning, a man in holy orders. See [31] Anstey's Munimenta Academica for much interesting information on early Oxford life and studies.

_Oxenford_, Oxford, as if 'the ford of the oxen' (A. S. _Oxnaford_); and it has not been proved that this etymology is wrong.

_y-go_, gone, betaken himself.

287. Hence 'Leane as a rake' in Skelton, Philip Sparowe, l. 913; 'A villaine, leane as any rake, appeares'; W. Browne, Brit. Past. bk. ii. song 1.

290. 'His uppermost short cloak (of coarse cloth).' The syllable _-py_ answers to Du. _pije_, a coarse cloth; cf. Goth. _paida_, a coat. Cf. E. _pea_-jacket. See D. 1382; P. Plowman, B. vi. 191; Rom. Rose, 220.

292. 'Nor was he so worldly as to take a (secular) office.' Many clerks undertook legal employments; P. Plowman, B. prol. 95.

293. 'For it was dearer to him to have,' i. e. he would rather have.

_lever_ is the comparative of M. E. _leef_, A. S. _l[=e]of_, lief, dear.

294. The first foot is defective: Twen | ty bo | kes, &c.

296. In the Milleres Tale, Chaucer describes a clerk of a very opposite character, who loved dissipation and played upon a 'sautrye' or psaltery. See A. 3200-20.

_fithel_ is the mod. E. _fiddle_. _sautrye_ is an O. F. spelling of our _psaltery_.

297. _philosophre_ is used in a double sense; it sometimes meant an alchemist, as in G. 1427. The clerk knew philosophy, but he was no alchemist, and so had but little gold.

298. _Hadde_, possessed; as _hadde_ is here emphatic, the final _e_ is not elided. So also in l. 386.

301. Chaucer often imitates his own lines. He here imitates Troil. iv. 1174--'And pitously gan for the soule preye.' _gan_, did.

302. _yaf him_, 'gave him (money) wherewith to attend school.' An allusion to the common practice, at this period, of poor scholars in the Universities, who wandered about the country begging, to raise money to support them in their studies. Luther underwent a similar experience. Cf. P. Plowman, B. vii. 31; also Ploughman's Crede, ed. Skeat, p. 71.

305. 'With propriety (due form) and modesty.'

307. _Souninge in_, conducing to; cf. note to l. 275 above.

THE MAN OF LAWE.

309. _war_, wary, cautious; A. S. _wær_, aware. Cf. l. 157.

310. _at the parvys_, at the _church-porch_, or portico of St. Paul's, where the lawyers were wont to meet for consultation. See Ducange, s. v. _paradisus_, which is the Latin form whence the O. F. _parvis_ is derived. Also the note in Warton, Hist. E. Poet., ed. 1840, ii. 212; cf. Anglia, viii. 453. And see Rom. of the Rose. 7108, and the note.

315. _pleyn_, full; F. _plein_, Lat. acc. _plenum_. Cf. _pleyn_, fully, in l. 327. [32]

320. _purchasing_, conveyancing; _infect_, invalid. 'The learned Sergeant was clever enough to untie any entail, and pass the property as estate in fee simple.'--W. H. H. Kelke, in N. and Q. 5 S. vi. 487.

The word _might-e_ occupies the fourth foot in the line.

323, 324. 'He was well acquainted with all the legal cases and decisions (or decrees) which had been ruled in the courts of law (lit. had befallen) since the time of William the Conqueror.' _In termes hadde he_, he had in terms, knew how to express in proper terms, was well acquainted with.

325. _Therto_, moreover. _make_, compose, draw up, draught.

326. _pinche at_, find fault with; lit. nip, twitch at.

327. _coude he_, he knew; _coude_ is the pt. t. of _konnen_, to know, A. S. _cunnan_.

328. _medlee cote_, a coat of mixed stuff or colour. In 1303, we find mention of 'one woman's surcoat of _medley_'; see Memorials of London, ed. Riley, p. 48.

329. _ceint of silk_, &c., a girdle of silk, with small ornaments. The _barres_ were called _cloux_ in French (Lat. _clavus_), and were the usual ornaments of a girdle. They were perforated to allow the tongue of the buckle to pass through them. 'Originally they were attached transversely to the wide tissue of which the girdle was formed, but subsequently were round or square, or fashioned like the heads of lions, and similar devices, the name of _barre_ being still retained, though improperly.'--Way, in Promptorium Parvulorum; s. v. _barre_. And see _Bar_ in the New English Dictionary. Gower also has: 'a ceinte of silk'; C. A. ed. Pauli, ii. 30. Cf. A. 3235, and Rom. of the Rose, 1085, 1103.

_ceint_, O. F. _ceint_, a girdle; from Lat. _cinctus_, pp. of _cingere_, to gird.

THE FRANKELEYN.

331. Fortescue (De Laudibus Legum Angliae, c. 29) describes a franklin to be a _pater familias--magnis ditatus possessionibus_; i. e. he was a substantial householder and a man of some importance. See Warton, Hist. E. Poet., ed. 1840, ii. 202; and Gloss. to P. Plowman.

332. _dayes-ye_, daisy; A. S. _dæges [=e]age_, lit. eye of day (the sun).

333. 'He was sanguine of complexion.' The old school of medicine, following Galen, supposed that there were four 'humours,' viz. hot, cold, moist, and dry (see l. 420), and four complexions or temperaments of men, viz. the sanguine, the choleric, the phlegmatic, and the melancholy. The man of sanguine complexion abounded in hot and moist humours, as shown in the following description, given in the Oriel MS. 79 (as quoted in my Preface to P. Plowman, B-text, p. xix):-- [33]

'_Sanguineus._
Largus, amans, hilaris, ridens, rubeique coloris,
Cantans, carnosus, satis audax, atque benignus:
multum appetit, quia calidus; multum potest, quia humidus.'

334. _by the morwe_, in the morning.

_a sop in wyn_, wine with pieces of cake or bread in it; see E. 1843. See Brand, Antiq. (ed. Ellis), ii. 137. Later, _sop-in-wine_ was a jocose name for a kind of pink or carnation; id. ii. 91.

In the Anturs of Arthur at the Tarnewathelan, st. 37, we read that

'Thre soppus of demayn [i. e. paindemayn]
Wos broght to Sir Gaua[y]n
For to comford his brayne.'

And in MS. Harl. 279, fol. 10, we have the necessary instruction for the making of these sops. 'Take mylke and boyle it, and thanne tak yolkys of eyroun [_eggs_], ytryid [_separated_] fro the whyte, and hete it, but let it nowt boyle, and stere it wyl tyl it be somwhat thikke; thenne cast therto salt and sugre, and kytte [_cut_] fayre paynemaynnys in round soppys, and caste the soppys theron, and serve it forth for a potage.'--Way, in Promptorium Parvulorum, p. 378. The F. name is _soupe au vin_. See also Ducange, s. v. _Merus_.

335. _wone_, wont, custom; A. S. _wuna_, _ge-wuna_.

_delyt_, delight; the mod. E. word is misspelt; _delite_ would be better.

336. 'A very son of Epicurus.' Alluding to the famous Greek philosopher [died B. C. 270], the author of the Epicurean philosophy, which assumed pleasure to be the highest good. Chaucer here follows Boethius, bk. iii. pr. 2. 54: 'The whiche delyt only considerede Epicurus, and iuged and establisshed that delyt is the sovereyn good.' Cf. Troil. iii. 1691, v. 763; also E. 2021.

340. '_St. Julian_ was eminent for providing his votaries with good lodgings and accommodation of all sorts. [See Chambers' Book of Days, ii. 388.] In the title of his legend, Bodl. MS. 1596, fol. 4, he is called "St. Julian the gode herberjour" (St. Julian the good harbourer).'--Tyrwhitt. His day is Jan. 9. See the Lives of Saints, ed. Horstmann (E. E. T. S.); also Gesta Romanorum, ed. Swan, tale 18; Mrs. Jameson, Sacred and Leg. Art, ii. 393.

341. _after oon_, according to one invariable standard; 'up to the mark'; cf. A. 1781, and the note. A description of a Franklin's feast is given in the Babees Book, ed. Furnivall, p. 170.

342. _envyned_, stored with wine. 'Cotgrave has preserved the French word _enviné_ in the same sense.'--Tyrwhitt.

343. _bake mete_ = _baked meat_; the old past participle of _bake_ was _baken_ or _bake_, as it was a strong verb. _Baked meats_ = meats baked in _coffins_ (pies). Cf. Hamlet, i. 2. 180.

344. _plentevous_, plenteous, plentiful; O. F. _plentivous_, formed by adding _-ous_ to O. F. _pleintif_, adj. abundant; see Godefroy's O. F. Dict. [34]

345. The verb _snewed_ may be explained as a metaphor from snowing; in fact, the M. E. _snewe_, like the Prov. Eng. _snie_ or _snive_, also signifies _to abound, swarm_. Camb. MS. reads 'It snowede in his mouth of mete and drynk.' Cf. 'He was with yiftes [presents] all _bisnewed_'; Gower, C. A. iii. 51. From A. S. _sn[=i]wan_.

347. _After_, according to; it depended on what was in season.

348. _soper_ (supee·r), supper; from O. F. infin. _soper_; cf. F. 1189.

349. _mewe._ The _mewe_ was the place where the hawks were kept while moulting; it was afterwards applied to the _coop_ wherein fowl were fattened, and lastly to a place of confinement or secrecy.

350. _stewe_, fish-pond. 'To insure a supply of fish, stew-ponds were attached to the manors, and few monasteries were without them; the moat around the castle was often converted into a fish-pond, and well stored with luce, carp, or tench.'--Our English Home, p. 65.

_breem_, bream; _luce_, pike, from O. F. _luce_, Low Lat. _lucius_.

351. _Wo was his cook_, woeful or sad was his cook. We now only use _wo_ or _woe_ as a substantive. Cf. B. 757, E. 753; and 'I am _woe_ for 't'; Tempest, v. 1. 139.

'Who was _woo_ but Olyvere then?'--Sowdone of Babyloyne, l. 1271. Rob. of Brunne, in his Handlyng Synne, l. 7250, says that a rich man's cook 'may no day Greythe hym hys mete to pay.'

_but-if_, unless.

351, 352. _sauce--Poynaunt_ is like the modern phrase _sauce piquante_. Cf. B. 4024. 'Our forefathers were great lovers of "piquant sauce." They made it of expensive condiments and rare spices.'--Our English Home, p. 62.

353. _table dormant_, irremoveable table. 'Previous to the fourteenth century a pair of common wooden trestles and a rough plank was deemed a table sufficient for the great hall.... Tables, with a board attached to a frame, were introduced about the time of Chaucer, and, from remaining in the hall, were regarded as indications of a ready hospitality.'--Our English Home, p. 29. Most tables were removeable; such a table was called a _bord_ (board).

355. _sessiouns._ At the Sessions of the Peace, at the meeting of the Justices of the Peace. Cf. '_At Sessions_ and at Sises we bare the stroke and swaye.'--Higgins' Mirrour for Magistrates, ed. 1571, p. 2.

356. _knight of the shire_, the designation given to the representative in parliament of an English county at large, as distinguished from the representatives of such counties and towns as are counties of themselves (Ogilvie). Chaucer was knight of the shire of Kent in 1386.

_tym-e_ here represents the A. S. _t[=i]man_, pl. of _t[=i]ma_, a time.

357. _anlas_ or _anelace_. Speght defines this word as a _falchion_, or wood-knife. It was, however, a short two-edged knife or dagger usually worn at the girdle, broad at the hilt and tapering to a point. See the New Eng. Dictionary; Liber Albus, p. 75; Knight, Pict. Hist. of England, i. 872; Gloss. to Matthew Paris, s. v. _anelacius_; Riley's [35] Memorials of London, p. 15. The etymology is unknown; I _guess_ it to be from M. E. _an_, on, and _las_, a lace, i. e. 'on a lace,' a dagger that hung from a lace attached to the girdle. Cf. A. S. _bigyrdel_ (just below); and 'hanging on a laas' in l. 392.

_gipser_ was properly a pouch or budget used in hawking, &c., but commonly worn by the merchant, or with any secular attire.--(Way.) It answers to F. _gibecière_, a pouch; from O. F. _gibe_, a bunch (Scheler). In Riley's Memorials of London, p. 398, under the date 1376, there is a mention of 'purses called _gibesers_.' In the Bury Wills, p. 37, l. 16, under the date 1463, we find--'My best _gypcer_ with iij. bagges.' The A. S. name was _bigyrdel_, from its hanging _by the girdle_, as said in l. 358; it occurs in the A. S. version of Matt. x. 9; and in P. Plowman, B. viii. 87.

358. _Heng_ (or _Heeng_), the past tense of _hongen_ or _hangen_, to hang.

_morne milk_ = morning-milk; as in A. 3236. 'As white as milke'; Ritson's Met. Romances, iii. 292.

359. _shirreve_, the _reve_ of a _shire_, governor of a county; our modern word _sheriff_.

_countour_, O. Fr. _comptour_, an accountant, a person who audited accounts or received money in charge, &c.; ranked with pleaders in Riley's Memorials of London, p. 58. It occurs in Rob. of Gloucester, l. 11153. In the Book of the Duch. 435, it simply means 'accountant.' Perhaps it here means 'auditor.' 'Or stewards, _countours_, or pleadours'; Plowman's Tale, pt. iii. st. 13.

360. _vavasour_, or _vavaser_, originally a sub-vassal or tenant of a vassal or tenant of the king's, one who held his lands in fealty. '_Vavasor_, one that in dignities is next to a Baron'; Cowel. Strutt (Manners and Customs, iii. 14) explains that a _vavasour_ was 'a tenant by knight's service, who did not hold immediately of the king _in capite_, but of some mesne lord, which excluded him from the dignity of baron by tenure.' Tyrwhitt says 'it should be understood to mean the whole class of middling landholders.' See Lacroix, Military Life of Middle Ages, p. 9. Spelt _favasour_ in King Alisaunder, ed. Weber, l. 3827. A. F. _uauassur_; Laws of Will. I. c. 20. Lit. 'vassal of vassals'; Low Lat. _vassus vassorum_.

THE HABERDASSHER AND OTHERS.

361. _Haberdassher._ Haberdashers were of two kinds: haberdashers of small wares--sellers of needles, tapes, buttons, &c.; and haberdashers of hats. The stuff called _hapertas_ is mentioned in the Liber Albus, p. 225.

362. _Webbe_, properly a male weaver; _webstere_ was the female weaver, but there appears to have been some confusion in the use of the suffixes _-e_ and _-stere_; see Piers Plowman, ed. Skeat, B. v. 215: 'mi _wyf_ was a _webbe_.' Hence the names _Webb_ and _Webster_. Cf. [36] A. S. _webba_, m., a weaver; _webbestere_, fem. _tapicer_, upholsterer; F. _tapis_, carpet.

363. _liveree_, livery. 'Under the term "livery" was included whatever was dispensed (_delivered_) by the lord to his officials or domestics annually or at certain seasons, whether money, victuals, or garments. The term chiefly denoted external marks of distinction, such as the _roba estivalis_ and _hiemalis_, given to the officers and retainers of the court.... The Stat. 7 Hen. IV expressly permits the adoption of such distinctive dress by fraternities and "_les gentz de mestere_," the trades of the cities of the realm, being ordained with good intent; and to this prevalent usage Chaucer alludes when he describes five artificers of various callings, who joined the pilgrimage, clothed all _in o lyveré of a solempne and greet fraternité_.'--Way, note to Prompt. Parv., p. 308. We still speak of the Livery Companies.

_And they were clothed alle_ (Elles., &c.); _Weren with vss eeke clothed_ (Harl.) The former reading leaves the former clause of the sentence without a verb.

364. _fraternitee_, guild: see English Gilds, ed. Toulmin Smith, pp. xxx, xxxix, cxxii. Each guild had its own livery; Rock, Church of our Fathers, ii. 412.

365. _gere_, gear, apparel. _apyked_, signifies cleaned, trimmed, like Shakespeare's _picked_. Cotgrave gives as senses of F. _piquer_, 'to quilt,' and 'to stiffen a coller.'

366. _y-chaped_, having _chapes_ (i. e. plates or _caps_ of metal at the point of the sheath or scabbard). Tradesmen and mechanics were prohibited from using knives adorned with silver, gold, or precious stones. So that Chaucer's pilgrims were of a superior estate, as is indicated in l. 369. Cf. _chapeless_, Taming of the Shrew, iii. 2. 48.

370. _deys_, _dese_, or _dais_ (Fr. _deis_, from Lat. _discum_, acc.), is used to denote the raised platform which was always found at the upper end of a hall, on which the high table was placed; originally, it meant the high table itself. In modern French and English, it is used of a canopy or 'tester' over a seat of state. Tyrwhitt's account of the word is confused, as he starts with a false etymology.

_yeld-halle_, guild-hall. See _Gildhall_ in the Index to E. Gilds, ed. Toulmin Smith.

371. _that he can_, that he knows; so also _as he couthe_, as he knew how, in l. 390. This line is deficient in the first foot.

372. _shaply_, adapted, fit; sometimes comely, of good _shape_. The mention of _alderman_ should be noted. It was the invariable title given to one who was chosen as the head or principal of a guild (see English Gilds, ed. Toulmin Smith, pp. ciii, 36, 148, 276, 446). All these men belonged to a fraternity or guild, and each of them was a fit man to be chosen as head of it.

373. 'For they had sufficient property and income' (to entitle them to undertake such an office).

376. _y-clept_, called; pp. of _clepen_; see l. 121. [37]

377. _And goon to vigilyes al bifore._ 'It was the manner in times past, upon festival evens, called _vigiliæ_, for parishioners to meet in their church-houses or church-yards, and there to have a drinking-fit for the time. Here they used to end many quarrels betwixt neighbour and neighbour. Hither came the wives in comely manner, and they which were of the better sort had their mantles carried with them, as well for show as to keep them from cold at table.'--Speght, Gl. to Chaucer.

THE COOK.

379. _for the nones_ = _for the nonce_; this expression, if grammatically written, would be _for then once_, M. E. _for þan anes_, for the once, i. e. for the occasion; where the adv. _anes_ (orig. a gen. form) is used as if it were a sb. in the dat. case. Cf. M. E. _atte_ = _atten_, A. S. _æt þ[=a]m_.

381. _poudre-marchaunt tart_ is a sharp (tart) kind of flavouring powder, twice mentioned in Household Ordinances and Receipts (Soc. Antiq. 1790) at pp. 425, 434: 'Do therto _pouder marchant_,' and 'do thi flessh therto, and gode herbes and _poudre marchaunt_, and let hit well stew.'--Notes and Queries, Fourth Series, iii. 180. See _Powder_ in the Glossary to the Babees Book.

'_Galingale_, which Chaucer, pre-eminentest, economioniseth above all junquetries or confectionaries whatsoever.'--Nash's Lenten Stuff, p. 36, ed. Hindley. _Galingale_ is the root of sweet cyperus. Harman (ed. Strother) notices three varieties: _Cyperus rotundus_, _Galanga major_, _Galanga minor_; Babees Book, ed. Furnivall, pp. 152, 216. See also Marco Polo, ed. Yule, ii. 181; Prompt. Parv., p. 185, note 4; Rogers, Hist. of Agriculture and Prices, i. 629; &c. And see Dr. H. Fletcher Hance's and Mr. Daniel Hanbury's Papers on this spice in the Linnæan Society's Journal, 1871.

382. _London ale._ London ale was famous as early as the time of Henry III., and much higher priced than any other ale; cf. A. 3140.

_Wel coude he knowe_, he well knew how to distinguish. In fact, we find, in the Manciple's Prologue (H. 57), that the Cook loved good ale only too well.

384. _mortreux_ or _mortrewes_. There were two kinds of 'mortrews,' 'mortrewes de chare' and 'mortrewes of fysshe.' The first was a kind of soup in which chickens, fresh pork, crumbs of bread, yolks of eggs, and saffron formed the chief ingredients; the second kind was a soup containing the roe (or milt) and liver of fish, bread, pepper, ale. The ingredients were first stamped or brayed in a _mortar_, whence it probably derived its name. Lord Bacon (Nat. Hist. i. 48) speaks of 'a _mortresse_ made with the brawne of capons stamped and strained.' See Babees Book, pp. 151, 170, 172; Liber Cure Cocorum, ed. Morris, pp. 9, 19; and the note to P. Plowman, C. xvi. 47. This line, like ll. 371 and 391, is deficient in the first foot.

386. _mormal_, a cancer or gangrene. Ben Jonson, in imitation of [38] this passage, has described a cook with an 'old _mortmal_ on his shin'; Sad Shepherd, act ii. sc. 2. Lydgate speaks of 'Goutes, _mormalles_, horrible to the sight'; Falls of Princes, bk. vii. c. 10. In Polit. Religious and Love Poems, ed. Furnivall, p. 218, we are told that the sin of Luxury 'ys a lyther _mormale_.' In Skelton's Magnificence, l. 1932, Adversity is made to say--'Some with the _marmoll_ to halte I them make'; and it is remarkable that Palsgrave gives both--'_Mormall_, a sore,' and '_Marmoll_, a sore'; the latter being plainly a corrupt form. See also Prompt. Parvulorum, p. 343, note 5. In MS. Oo. i. 20, last leaf, in the Camb. Univ. Library, are notices of remedies 'Por la maladie que est apele _malum mortuum_.' The MS. says that it comes from melancholy, and shows a broad hard scurf or crust.

387. _blank-manger_, a compound made of capon minced, with rice, milk, sugar, and almonds; see Liber Cure Cocorum, ed. Morris, p. 9. Named from its white colour.

THE SHIPMAN.

See the essay on Chaucer's Shipman in Essays on Chaucer, p. 455.

388. _woning_, dwelling; from A. S. _wunian_, to dwell.

_by weste_ = _westward_. A good old expression, which was once very common as late as the sixteenth century.

389. Dartmouth was once a very considerable port; see Essays on Chaucer, p. 456. Compare the account of the Shipman's Gild at Lynn; E. Gilds, p. 54.

390. _rouncy_, a common hackney horse, a nag. Cf. _Rozinante_. '_Rocinante_--significativo de lo que habia sido cuando fué _rocin, antes_ de lo que ahora era.' Don Quijote, cap. 1. 'From _Rozin_, a drudge-horse, and _ante_, before.' Jarvis's note. The O. F. form is _roncin_; Low Lat. _runcinus_. The _rouncy_ was chiefly used for agricultural work; see Essays on Chaucer, p. 494.

_as he couthe_, as he knew how; but, as a sailor, his knowledge this way was deficient.

391. _a goune of falding_, a gown (robe) of coarse cloth. The term _falding_ signifies 'a kind of frieze or rough-napped cloth,' which was probably 'supplied from the North of Europe, and identical with the woollen wrappers of which Hermoldus speaks, "_quos nos appellamus Faldones_."'--Way. '_Falding_ was a coarse serge cloth, very rough and durable,' &c.; Essays on Chaucer, p. 438. In MS. O. 5. 4, in Trinity College, Cambridge, occurs the entry--'Amphibulus, vestis equi villosa, anglice _a sclauayn or faldyng_'; cited in Furnivall's Temporary Preface, p. 99. In 1392, I find a mention of 'unam tunicam de nigro _faldyng_ lineatam'; Testamenta Eboracensia, i. 173. Hence its colour was sometimes black, and the Shipman's gown is so coloured in the drawing in the Ellesmere MS.; but see A. 3212. See the whole of Way's long note in the Prompt. Parvulorum. [39]

392. _laas_, lace, cord. Seamen still carry their knives slung.

394. _the hote somer._ 'Perhaps this is a reference to the summer of the year 1351, which was long remembered as the dry and hot summer.'--Wright. There was another such summer in 1370, much nearer the date of this Prologue. But it may be a mere general expression.

395. _a good felawe_, a merry companion; as in l. 648.

396-8. 'Very many a draught of wine had he drawn (stolen away or carried off) from Bordeaux, cask and all, while the chapman (merchant or supercargo to whom the wine belonged) was asleep; for he paid no regard to any conscientious scruples.'

_took keep_; cf. F. _prendre garde_.

399. _hyer hond_, upper hand.

400. 'He sent them home to wherever they came from _by water_,' i. e. he made them 'walk the plank,' as it used to be called; or, in plain English, threw them overboard, to sink or swim. However cruel this may seem now, it was probably a common practice. 'This battle (the sea-fight off Sluys) was very murderous and horrible. Combats at sea are more destructive and obstinate than upon land'; Froissart's Chron. bk. i. c. 50. See Minot's Poems, ed. Hall, p. 16. In Wright's History of Caricature, p. 204, is an anecdote of the way in which the defeat of the French at Sluys was at last revealed to the king of France, Philippe VI., by the court-jester, who alone dared to communicate the news. 'Entering the King's chamber, he continued muttering to himself, but loud enough to be heard--"Those cowardly English! the chicken-hearted English!" "How so, cousin?" the king inquired. "Why," replied the fool, "because they have not courage enough _to jump into the sea_, like your French soldiers, who went over headlong from their ships, leaving them to the enemy, who had _no inclination to follow them_." Philippe thus became aware of the full extent of his calamity.' And see Essays on Chaucer, p. 460.

402. _stremes_, currents. _him bisydes_, ever near at hand.

403. _herberwe_, harbour; see note to l. 765. _mone_, moon, time of the lunation.

_lodemenage_, pilotage. A pilot was called a _lodesman_; see Way's note in Prompt. Parv. p. 310; Riley's Memorials of London, p. 655; Chaucer's Legend of Good Women, 1488. Furnivall's Temporary Preface, p. 98, gives the Lat. form as _lodmannus_, whence _lodmannagium_, pilotage, examples of which are given. Sometimes, _lodesman_ meant any guide or conductor, as in Rob. of Brunne, Handlyng Synne, 9027; Monk of Evesham, ed. Arber, p. 106. M. E. _lode_ is the A. S. _l[=a]d_, a way, a course, the sb. whence the verb to _lead_ is derived. It is itself derived from A. S. _l[=i]ðan_, to travel.

404. Cf. Rom. de la Rose, 5394--'Qui cercheroit jusqu'en Cartage.'

408. _Gootland_, Gottland, an island in the Baltic Sea.

409. _cryke_, creek, harbour, port.

410. We find actual mention of a vessel called the _Maudelayne_ [40] belonging to the port of Dartmouth, in the years 1379 and 1386; see Essays on Chaucer, p. 484. See also N. & Q. 6 S. xii. 47.

THE DOCTOUR.

415. _astronomye_, (really) astrology. See Saunders on Chaucer, p. 111; Warton, Hist. E. Poet. (1840), ii. 202.

415, 416. _kepte_, watched. The _houres_ are the astrological hours. He carefully watched for a favourable star in the ascendant. 'A great portion of the medical science of the middle ages depended upon astrological and other superstitious observances.'--Wright. 'A Phisition must take heede and aduise him of a certaine thing, that _fayleth not, nor deceiueth_, the which thing Astronomers of Ægypt taught, that by coniunction of the bodye of the Moone with sterres fortunate, commeth dreadful sicknesse to good end: and with contrary Planets falleth the contrary, that is, to euill ende'; &c.--Batman upon Bartholomè, lib. viii. c. 29. Precisely the same sort of thing was in vogue much later, viz. in 1578; see Bullein's Dialogue against the Feuer Pestilence (E. E. T. S.), p. 32.