XXII.

"Lo!" says he, handling the lace, "this is the band of blame,

"Lo! lorde," quod þe leude, & þe lace hondeled,

"Þis is þe bende of þis blame I bere [in] my nek,

Þis is þe laþe & þe losse, þat I laȝt haue,

Of couardise & couetyse, þat I haf caȝt þare,

Þis is þe token of vn-trawþe, þat I am tan inne,

& I mot nedeȝ hit were, wyle I may last;

For non may hyden his harme, bot vnhap ne may hit,

For þer hit oneȝ is tachched, twynne wil hit neuer."

Þe kyng comforteȝ þe knyȝt, & alle þe court als,

Laȝen loude þer-at, & luflyly acorden,

Þat lordes & ladis, þat longed to þe Table,

Vche burne of þe broþer-hede a bauderyk schulde haue,

A bende, a belef hym aboute, of a bryȝt grene,

& þat, for sake of þat segge, in swete to were.

For þat watȝ acorded þe renoun of þe Rounde Table,

& he honoured þat hit hade, euer-more after,

As hit is breued in þe best boke of romaunce.

Þus in Arthurus day þis aunter bitidde,

Þe Brutus bokees þer-of beres wyttenesse;

Syþen Brutus, þe bolde burne, boȝed hider fyrst,

After þe segge & þe asaute watȝ sesed at Troye,

I-wysse;

Mony auntereȝ here bi-forne,

Haf fallen suche er þis:

Now þat bere þe croun of þorne,

He bryng vus to his blysse! AMEN.

NOTES.

Line 8 Ricchis turns, goes,
The king ...
Ricchis his reynys and the Renke metys:
Girden to gedur with þere grete speires.—T.B. l. 1232.
37 Þis kyng lay at Camylot vpon kryst-masse.
Camalot, in Malory's "Morte Arthure," is said to be the same as Winchester. Ritson supposes it to be Caer-went, in Monmouthshire, and afterwards confounded with Caer-wynt, or Winchester. But popular tradition here seems the best guide, which assigned the site of Camalot to the ruins of a castle on a hill, near the church of South Cadbury, in Somersetshire (Sir F. Madden).
65 Nowel nayted o-newe, neuened ful ofte.
Christmas celebrated anew, mentioned full often.
Sir F. Madden leaves the word nayted unexplained in his Glossary to "Syr Gawayne."
124 syluener = sylueren, i.e. silver dishes.
139 lyndes = lendes, loins.
142 in his muckel, in his greatness.
184 Watȝ euesed al umbe-torne—? was trimmed, all cut evenly around; umbe-torne may be an error for vmbe-corue = cut round.
216 in gracios werkes. Sir F. Madden reads gracons for gracios, and suggests Greek as the meaning of it.
244-5 As al were slypped vpon slepe so slaked hor loteȝ
in hyȝe.
As all were fallen asleep so ceased their words
in haste (suddenly).
Sir F. Madden reads slaked horloteȝ, instead of slaked hor loteȝ, which, according to his glossary, signifies drunken vagabonds. He evidently takes horloteȝ to be another (and a very uncommon) form of harloteȝ = harlots. But harlot, or vagabond, would be a very inappropriate term to apply to the noble Knights of the Round Table. Moreover, slaked never, I think, means drunken. The general sense of the verb slake is to let loose, lessen, cease. Cf. lines 411-2, where sloke, another form of slake, occurs with a similar meaning:
— layt no fyrre; bot slokes.
— seek no further, but stop (cease).
Sir F. Madden suggests blows as the explanation of slokes. It is, however, a verb in the imperative mood.
286 Brayn. Mätzner suggests brayn-wod.
296 barlay = par loi. This word is exceedingly common in the T. Book (see l. 3391).
I bid you now, barlay, with besines at all
Þat ye set you most soverainly my suster to gete.—T.B. l. 2780.
394 siker. Sir F. Madden reads swer.
440 bluk. Sir F. Madden suggests blunk (horse). I am inclined to keep to the reading of the MS., and explain bluk as = bulk = trunk. Cf. the use of the word Blok in "Early English Alliterative Poems," p. 100, l. 272.
558 derue doel, etc. = great grief. Sir F. Madden reads derne, i.e. secret, instead of derue (= derf). Cf. line 564.
577 knaged, fastened.
The braunches were borly, sum of bright gold,
With leuys full luffly, light of the same;
With burions aboue bright to beholde;
And fruit on yt fourmyt of fairest of shap,
Of mony kynd that was knyt, knagged aboue.—T.B. l. 4973.
629 & ay quere hit is endeleȝ, etc.
And everywhere it is endless, etc.
Sir F. Madden reads emdeleȝ, i.e. with equal sides.
652 for-be = for-bi = surpassing, beyond.
681 for Hadet read Halet = haled = exiled (?). See line 1049.
806 auinant = auenaunt, pleasantly. Sir F. Madden reads amnant.
954 of. Should we not read on (?).
957 Þat oþer wyth a gorger watȝ gered ouer þe swyre.
The gorger or wimple is stated first to have appeared in Edward the First's reign, and an example is found on the monument of Aveline, Countess of Lancaster, who died in 1269. From the poem, however, it would seem that the gorger was confined to elderly ladies (Sir F. Madden)
968 More lykker-wys on to lyk,
Watȝ þat scho had on lode.
A more pleasant one to like,
Was that (one) she had under her control.
988 tayt = lively, and hence pleasant, agreeable.
1015 in vayres, in purity.
1020 dut = dunt (?) = dint (?), referring to sword-sports.
1022 sayn[t] Ioneȝ day. This is the 27th of December, and the last of the feast. Sometimes the Christmas festivities were prolonged to New Year's Day (Sir F. Madden).
1047 derne dede = secret deed. I would prefer to read derue dede = great deed. Cf. lines 558, 564.
1053 I wot in worlde, etc. = I not (I know not) in worlde, etc.
1054 I nolde, bot if I hit negh myȝt on nwȝeres morne,
For alle þe londe in-wyth Logres, etc.
I would not [delay to set out], unless I might approach it on New Year's morn, for all the lands within England, etc.
1074 in spenne = in space = in the interval = meanwhile. See line 1503.
1160 slentyng of arwes. Sir F. Madden reads sleutyng.
"Of drawyn swordis sclentyng to and fra,
The brycht mettale, and othir armouris seir,
Quharon the sonnys blenkis betis cleir,
Glitteris and schane, and vnder bemys brycht,
Castis ane new twynklyng or a lemand lycht."
(G. Douglas' Æneid, Vol. i, p. 421.)
1281 let lyk = appeared pleased.
1283 Þaȝ I were burde bryȝtest, þe burde in mynde hade, etc.
The sense requires us to read:
Þaȝ ho were burde bryȝtest, þe burne in mynde hade, etc.
i.e., Though she were lady fairest, the knight in mind had, etc.
1440 Long sythen [seuered] for þe sounder þat wiȝt for-olde
Long since separated from the sounder or herd that fierce (one) for-aged (grew very old).
"Now to speke of the boore, the fyrste year he is
A pygge of the sounder callyd, as haue I blys;
The secounde yere an hogge, and soo shall he be,
And an hoggestere, whan he is of yeres thre;
And when he is foure yere, a boor shall he be,
From the sounder of the swyne thenne departyth he;
A synguler is he soo, for alone he woll go."
(Book of St. Alban's, ed. 1496, sig. d., i.)
1476 totes = looks, toots.
Sho went up wightly by a walle syde.
To the toppe of a toure and tot ouer the water.—T.B. l. 862.
1623 A verb [? lalede = cried] seems wanting after lorde.
1702 fnasted, breathed.
These balfull bestes were, as the boke tellus,
Full flaumond of fyre with fnastyng of logh.—T.B. l. 168.
1710 a strothe rande = a rugged path. Cf. the phrases tene greue, l. 1707; roȝe greue, l. 1898.
1729 bi lag = be-lagh(?) = below (?).
1719 Thenne watȝ hit lif vpon list, etc.
Should we not read:
Thenne watȝ hit list vpon lif, etc.
i.e., Then was there joy in life, etc.
1780 lyf = lef(?), beloved (one).
1869 Ho hatȝ kyst þe knyȝt so toȝt.
She has kissed the knight so courteous.
Sir F. Madden explains toȝt, promptly. Toȝt seems to be the same as the Northumbrian taght in the following extract from the "Morte Arthure":
"There come in at the fyrste course, before the kyng seluene,
Bare hevedys that ware bryghte, burnyste with sylver,
Alle with taghte mene and towne in togers fulle ryche."—(p. 15.)
The word towne (well-behaved) still exists in wan-ton, the original meaning of which was ill-mannered, ill-bred.
1909 bray houndeȝ = braþ houndeȝ, i.e. fierce hounds.
1995 He hatȝ nere þat he soȝt = He watȝ nere þat he soȝt = He was near to that which he sought.
2160 gedereȝ þe rake = takes the path or way.
2167 Þe skweȝ of þe scowtes skayued hym þoȝt.
The shadows of the hills appeared wild (desolate) to him. Sir F. Madden reads skayned, of which he gives no explanation. Skayued = skayfed, seems to be the N. Prov. English scafe, wild. Scotch schaivie, wild, mad. O.N. skeifr. Sw. skef, awry, distorted.
2204 ronge = clattered.
2211 Drede dotȝ me no lote =
No noise shall cause me to dread (fear).
2357 & þer-for þat tappe ta þe.
And therefore take thee that tap.
ta þe = take thee. Sir F. Madden reads taþe = taketh. See l. 413, where to þe rhymes with sothe. We have no imperatives in th in this poem.
2401 We schyn reuel, etc. Sir F. Madden reads wasch yn reuel. But schyn = shall. See Glossary to "Alliterative Poems."
2474 on-coolde = on-colde = coldly = sorrowfully.
2489 in-sounde = soundly, well. Cf. in-blande = together; in-lyche, alike; inmyddeȝ, amidst.