POEMS AGAINST GARNESCHE.
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;
“Termygantis temptis and Vespasius thy eme.”
Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 85. ed. Laing.
—— 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.
“It kythit be his cognisance ane knight that he wes.”
Golagros and Gawane, p. 137, Syr Gawayne, &c. ed. Bann.
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,—
“hungry gled.”
...
“Lyke to ane stark theif glowrand in ane tedder.”
Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 70, 72. ed. Laing.
—— 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;
“Hoyning like hogges that groynis and wrotes.”
Against venemous tongues, vol. i. 132.
“The Gruntyng and the groynninge of the gronnyng swyne.”
Garlande of Laurell, v. 1376. vol. i. 415.
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.
Ye cappyd Cayface copious, your paltoke on your pate,
Thow ye prate lyke prowde Pylate, be ware yet of chek mate]
—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)
“Thow irefull attircop, Pylat appostata.”
...
...“Cayphass thy fectour.”
Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 85, 86. ed. Laing.
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;
“Hof hof hof a frysch galaunt.”
Mary Magdalene,—An. Mysteries from the Digby MSS. p. 85. ed. Abbotsf.
“Make rome syrs and let vs be mery
With huffa galand synge tyrll on the bery.”
Interlude of the iiii. Elementes, n. d. sig. B ii.
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,—
“For and the Squire of Damsels, as I take it.”
Act ii. sc. 2. [sc. 3.],—
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.)
“—— thy frawart phisnomy.”
Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 68. ed. Laing.
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;
“Gife I be lusty in array,
Than luve I paramouris thay say
...
Gife I be nocht weill als besene,” &c.
Poems, i. 185. ed. Laing.
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);
“Out! out! I schowt, upon that snout that snevillis.”
Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 86. ed. Laing.
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;
“Thow callyst me scallyd, thou callyst me mad:
Thow thou be pyllyd, thow ar nat sade.”
v. 116. vol. i. 130.
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;
“Auaunt, syr Guy of Gaunt.”
v. 1157. vol. i. 355.
In The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy (which, as already shewn, strongly resembles the present pieces Against Garnesche in several minute particulars) we find—
“thow spreit of Gy.”
Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 72. ed. Laing.
and at p. 37 of the same vol., in The Droichis Part of the Play, attributed to Dunbar,—
“I wait I am the spreit of Gy.”
So too Sir D. Lyndsay in his Epistill to the Kingis Grace before his Dreme,—
“And sumtyme, lyke the grislie gaist of Gy.”
Works, i. 187. ed. Chalmers,—
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,—
(“Who so the waris wared be he.”
Isaac,—Towneley Mysteries, p. 43)—
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:
“For blynde bayarde caste peryll of nothynge,
Tyll that he stumblyng fall amydde the lake.”
Lydgate’s Warres of Troy, B. v. sig. E e ii. ed. 1555.
v. 102. kynde] i. e. nature.
v. 108.
Ye wolde be callyd a maker,
And make moche lyke Jake Raker]
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;
“Set sophia asyde, for euery Jack Raker
And euery mad medler must now be a maker.”
Speke, Parrot, v. 165. vol. ii. 8.
“He maketh vs Jacke Rakers;
He sayes we ar but crakers,” &c.
Why come ye nat to Courte, v. 270. vol. ii. 35.
So too in the comedy by Nicholas Udall, entitled Ralph Royster Doyster;
“Of Songs and Balades also he is a maker,
And that can he as finely doe as Jacke Raker.”
Act ii. sc. 1. p. 27. (reprint.)
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.
Your skyn scabbyd and scuruy,
Tawny, tannyd, and shuruy, &c.]
—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);
“Fy! skolderit skyn, thow art bot skyre and skrumple.”
...
“Ane crabbit, skabbit, evill facit messane tyk.”
...
“Thow lukis lowsy.”
Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 70, 84, 72. ed. Laing.
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;
“Yf he call her calat she calleth hym knaue agayne
She shyll not dye in his dette.”
Sig. B i.
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);
“For substance and geir thow hes a widdy teuch
On Mont Falcone, about thy craig to rax.”
Dunbar’s Poems, ii. 79. ed. Laing.
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;
“Let syr Wrigwrag wrastell with syr Delarag.”
Speke, Parrot, v. 91. vol. ii. 6.
“Adue nowe, sir Wrig wrag,
Adue, sir Dalyrag!”
Howe the douty Duke of Albany, &c. v. 297. vol. ii. 76.
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.
That byrd ys nat honest
That fylythe hys owne nest]
—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,—
“As wyse as Tom a thrum.”
v. 284. vol. i. 322,—
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.
Ye syng allway the kukkowe songe:
...
Your chorlyshe chauntyng ys al o lay]
—o lay, i. e. one strain. So Lydgate;
“The cokkowe syng can than but oon lay.”
The Chorle and the Bird,—MS. Harl. 116. fol. 151.
v. 12. Cicero with hys tong of golde] So Dunbar speaking of Homer and Tully;
“Your aureate tongis both bene all to lyte,” &c.
Poems, i. 13. ed. Laing.
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;
“Foo, foisty bawdias! sum smellid of the smoke.”
v. 639. vol. i. 387.
It occurs in the metrical tale The Kyng and the Hermyt;
“When the coppe comys into the plas,
Canst thou sey fusty bandyas, [baudyas]
And think it in your thouht?
And you schall here a totted frere
Sey stryke pantnere,
And in ye [the] cope leve ryht nouht.”
Brit. Bibliogr. iv. 90.
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.
I wold sum manys bake ink horne
Wher thi nose spectacle case]
—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;
“Than, our processe for to stable.”
v. 533. vol. ii. 43.
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:
“I can daunce the raye, I can both pipe and sing.”
Barclay’s First Egloge, sig. A ii. ed. 1570.
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.