THE BOWGE OF COURTE.
“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.
Methoughte I sawe a shyppe, goodly of sayle,
Come saylynge forth into that hauen brood,
Her takelynge ryche and of hye apparayle]
Of this passage Mr. Wordsworth has a recollection in one of his noble Sonnets;
“A goodly Vessel did I then espy
Come like a giant from a haven broad;
And lustily along the bay she strode,
Her tackling rich, and of apparel high.”
Works, iii. 34. ed. 1836.
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;
“Ye haue eten sauce, I trowe, at the Taylors Hall.”
v. 1421. vol. i. 271.
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;
“And for al strengthe that gad yaf hym [Samson] before,
Thei hym captived.”
The prohemy of a mariage, &c.,—MS. Harl. 372. fol. 48.
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:
“I yeue not of her harme a bene.”
Chaucer’s Rom. of the Rose,—Workes, fol. 137. ed. 1602.
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,
“My tonge is with fauell forked and tyned.”
v. 737. vol. i. 249.
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;
“Hauell and Haruy Hafter.”
v. 94. vol. ii. 29.
and his Magnyfycence;
“Nowe, benedicite, ye wene I were some hafter.”
v. 259. vol. i. 233.
“Craftynge and haftynge contryued is by me.”
v. 707. vol. i. 248.
“For to vse suche haftynge and crafty wayes.”
v. 1698. vol. i. 280.
“And from crafters and hafters I you forfende.”
v. 2485. vol. i. 307.
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—
“Trowest thou, dreuyll, I saye, thou gawdy knaue,
That I haue deynte to see thé cherysshed thus?”
v. 337—
“deynte” seems to be equivalent to—pleasure: compare
“Bycause that he hath ioye and great deintye
To reade in bokes of olde antiquitye.”
Lydgate’s Warres of Troy (Prologue), sig. B i. ed. 1555.
“Adew, dolour, adew! my daynte now begynis.”
Dunbar’s tale of The Tua Maryit Wemen and the Wedo,—Poems, i. 76. ed. Laing.
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;
“Than ye may commaunde me to gentil Cok wat.”—vol. i. 132.
and his Magnyfycence;
“What canest thou do but play cocke wat?”
v. 1206. vol. i. 264.
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.
“As grunting and drinking, reboking vp agayne.”
Barclay’s Ship of Fooles, fol. 229. ed. 1570.
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.
“That hyr auowe maad of chastyte.”
Lydgate’s Lyf of our Lady, sig. b i.
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;
“A, what, I am light as lynde!”
Towneley Myst. p. 80.
and in Chaucer’s Clerkes Tale;
“Be ay of chere as light as lefe on linde.”
v. 9087. ed. Tyr.
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):
“They sprede theyr sayles as voyde of sorowe
Forthe they rowed saynt George to borowe
For ioye theyr trumpettes dyde they blowe
And some songe heue and howe rombelowe.”
Cocke Lorelles bote, sig. C i.
“Synge heaue and howe rombelowe, trolle on away.”
Burden to the Ballad On Thomas Lord Cromwell,—Percy’s Rel. of A. E. P., ii. 64. ed. 1794.
Varied thus:
“Wit[h], hey, howe, rumbelowe.”
Skelton’s Epitaphe, &c., v. 61. vol. i. 171.
“They rowede hard, and sungge thertoo,
With heuelow and rumbeloo.”
Richard Coer de Lion,—Weber’s Met. Rom. ii. 99.
“Maydens of Englande sore may ye morne
For your lemmans ye haue loste at Bannockys borne,
Wyth heue a lowe.
What weneth the king of England
So soone to haue wone Scotland,
Wyth rumbylowe.”
Scottish Song on the Battle of Bannockburn,—Fabyan’s Chron., vol. ii. fol. 169. ed. 1559.
“Your maryners shall synge arowe
Hey how and rumby lowe.”
The Squyr of Lowe Degre,—Ritson’s Met. Rom. iii. 179.
“I saw three ladies fair, singing hey and how,
Upon yon ley land, hey:
I saw three mariners, singing rumbelow,
Upon yon sea-strand, hey.”
Song quoted ibid., iii. 353.
“Where were many shippes and maryners noyse with hale & how.”
Morte d’Arthur, B. vii. c. xv. vol. i. 209. ed. Southey.
“Hope, Calye, and Cardronow,
Gathered out thick-fold,
With heigh, and how, rumbelow,
The young fools were full bold.”
Peblis to the Play,—Chalmers’s Poet. Rem. of Scot. Kings, p. 108.
“Robin Hood and Little John
They are both gone to fair O!
And we will go to the merry green wood,
To see what they do there O!
With Hel-an-tow
And Rum-be-low,” &c.
Cornish Song,—Gent. Mag. for Dec. 1790. vol. lx. (part sec.) 1100.
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
“the londe of rumbelowe
Thre myle out of hell.”
Sig. A vii. ed. W. de Worde.
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
“Princes of yowth, and flowre of goodly porte.”
v. 897. vol. i. 398.
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.
“Nowe, of good felowshyp, let me by thy dogge.”
Skelton’s Magnyfycence, v. 1095. vol. i. 260.
“Yng. But yf thou wylt haue a song that is good
I haue one of robynhode
The best that euer was made.
Hu. Then a feleshyp let vs here it.”
Interlude of the iiii Elementes, n. d. sig. E vii.
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
“So that a by myght close hem both two
Vnder his wynges;”
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:
“Thought I, By saint Thomas of Kent,” &c.
Chaucer’s House of Fame,—Workes, fol. 267. ed. 1602.
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;
No by my faith he saide incontinente
But by saint Thomas of Kente
I woulde haue at the hasarde a cast or two
For to learne to caste the dyce to and fro
And if here be any body that wyll for money playe
I haue yet in my purse money and pledges gaye
Some be nobles some be crownes of Fraunce
Haue at all who wyll of this daunce
One of them answered with that worde
And caste a bale of dyce on the borde,” &c.
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;
“At diuers holes his heare grewe through his hode.”
Sig. A i. ed. 1570.
and Heywood’s Dialogue;
“There is a nest of chickens which he doth brood
That will sure make his hayre growe through his hood.”
Sig. G 2.,—Workes, ed. 1598.
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:
“Ragged and torne, disguised in array.”
Chaucer’s Court of Loue, fol. 329,—Workes, ed. 1602.
v. 352. watchynge ouer nyghte] i. e. over-night’s debauch:
“Withdraw your hand fro riotous watchyng.”
Lydgate’s Fall of Prynces, B. ix. fol. xxxi. ed. Wayland.
v. 354. ne couer myghte] i. e. might not cover.
v. 355. he wente so all for somer lyghte]—somer, i. e. summer.
Compare;
“For he sente hem forth selverles, in a somer garnement.”
Peirs Plouhman, Pass. Dec. p. 153. ed. Whit.
“It semed that he caried litel array,
Al light for sommer rode this worthy man.”
Chaucer’s Chanones Yemannes Prol. v. 16035. ed. Tyr.
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.
—— his pouche,
The deuyll myghte daunce therin for ony crouche]
—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;
“The devil sleeps in my pocket; I have no cross
To drive him from it.”
Works (by Gifford), iv. 398. ed. 1813.
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;
“And euer be mery lett reuell rought.”
A Morality,—Anc. Mysteries from the Digby MSS. p. 187. ed. Abbotsf.
“Then made they revell route and goodly glee.”
Spenser’s Mother Hubberds Tale,—Works, vii. 428. ed. Todd.
—— 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.
“Darest thou trye maystries with me a plucke.”
p. 60. Rox. ed.
and a song quoted in the note on our author’s Magnyfycence, v. 757;
“A stoupe of bere vp at a pluk.”
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;
“Let’s have a bridling cast before you go.
Fill’s a new stoop.”
act ii. sc. 2.
—— 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
“Here is nothynge but the bockyll of a sho,
And in my purse was twenty marke.”
v. 1120. vol. i. 261.
Page 45. v. 398. The armes of Calyce] In our author’s Magnyfycence is the same exclamation;
“By the armes of Calys, well conceyued!”
V. 685. vol. i. 247.
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 here is for me,
A cloute of London pynnes.”
v. 563. vol. i. 113.
“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;
“Sore might hir agrise.”
Arthour and Merlin, p. 34. ed. Abbotsf.
“Of his sweuen sore him agros.”
Marie Maudelein, p. 226,—Turnbull’s Legendæ Catholicæ (from the Auchinleck MS.).
“The kinges herte of pitee gan agrise.”
Chaucer’s Man of Lawes Tale, v. 5034. ed. Tyr.
“Swiche peines, that your hertes might agrise.”
Chaucer’s Freres Tale, v. 7231. ed. Tyr.
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;
“But in his sleue he gan to thring
A rasour sharpe.”
Chaucer’s Rom. of the Rose,—Workes, fol. 141. ed. 1602.
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;
“Herewithall his wife to make vp my mouth,
Not onely her husbands taunting tale auouth,
But thereto deuiseth to cast in my teeth
Checks and choking oysters.”
Dialogue, sig. E,—Workes, ed. 1598.
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:
“Me lyste not now. whysper nether rowne.”
Lydgate’s Storye of Thebes, Pars Prima, sig. b vii. ed. 4to. n. d.
“Whisper and rounde thinges ymagined falsly.”
Barclay’s Ship of Fooles, fol. 208. ed. 1570.
“They’re here with me already, whispering, rounding.”
Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale, act i. sc. 2.
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.