Illustrations of Shakspeare, and of Ancient Manners: / with Dissertations on the Clowns and Fools of Shakspeare; on a Collection of Popular Tales Entitled Gesta Romanorum; and on the English Morris dance.

by Francis Douce

[206] This gentleman's death is recorded to have happened Oct. 22nd, 1779. Gough's Brit. topogr. ii. 239.

[207] See his continuation to Ben Jonson's sad shepherd, 1782, 8vo, p. 255, a work of very considerable merit, and which will materially diminish the regret of all readers of taste that the original was left unfinished.

[208] Robin Hood, I. cviii.

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[INDEX.]

"Commoditas homines studiosos invitavit librorum Indices comparare, quibus minimo labore ad id quod quisque quæreret, tanquam manu duceretur."—Cicero ad Atticum.

• A. PAGE
• Æsop's Fables, a ludicrous cut in some editions of them, [12]
• Æsopian fables, account of a collection of them made during the middle ages, [361]
• ——, moralized, [523]
• Affiancing, some account of this ancient ceremony, [67], [248]
• Ages of man, prints of them, [185]
• Alexander the great, his good savour, [150]
• ——, his arms as one of the nine worthies, [150]
• Althea's firebrand, inaccurately alluded to by Shakspeare, [278]
• Alligator, a conjecture on the derivation of this word, [436]
• Alliterative and anapæstic lines, in Love's labour's lost, not Shakspeare's, [133]
• Amaimon, the name of a Devil, [264]
• Ambrose, Saint, a hymn by him against nocturnal illusions, [128]
• Amulets against fascination, [303], [305]
• ——, phallic, [304]
• Anachronisms, those of Shakspeare pointed out, [488]
• Angels, cracked, [460]
• Anglo-Norman song, [447]
• Apemantus, his character whence borrowed, [356]
• Apollonius Tyaneus, account of this romance, [398]
• April and May, to smell, [45]
• Appeal for treason, the ceremony observed in the combats on that occasion, [317], [487]
• Arbeau Thoinot, his Orchesographie, a curious treatise on dancing, [135], [301]
• Archee or Archy Armstrong, the fool of James I. and Charles I., [502], [505], [513]
• Armin, Robert, an imitator of Shakspeare in his play of The Valiant Welshman, [476]
• Arthur's show, some account of it, [283]
• Artillery, names given to it formerly, [261]
• Ars moriendi, account of a print copied from it, [325]
• Arvals, description of them, [439]
• Asmodeus, the demon of nocturnal illusions, [129]
• Ass, receipt to make a man resemble one, [119]
• Autolycus, not a minstrel, [216]
• ——, whence his character taken, [217]
• B.
• Bacon, Lord, story from his apophthegms, [276]
• Badge, account of this ancient mark of servitude, [205]
• ——, representation of it, [209]
• Bagpipe woollen, the true reading, [162]
• Banks, some account of him and his horse, [131]
• Banshee, an Irish fairy, [237]
• Bardolph, his face, the subject of Falstaff's wit, [267]
• Bartholomæus de proprietatibus rerum, account of this book, [487]
• Basilisco oaths, [247]
• Basilisk, its fabulous property, [321]
• Batman upon Bartholome, its original price, [6]
• Battles, the absurd way of representing them on the ancient stage, [296]
• Bauble, the fool's, description of various sorts of it, [386], [509]
• Bavian fool, [593]
• Beadles, their ancient dress, [293]
• Bear-licking, popular notions respecting it, [330]
• Beaufort, Cardinal, strictures on a celebrated painting of his death, [325]
• Beaumont and Fletcher, one edition of their plays curious for the prints, [489]
• Bed, blessing of the bridal, [485]
• Bellona's bridegroom, this expression defended, [228]
• Bell-savage, sign of the, explained, [61]
• Belly and the members, origin of this apologue investigated, [361]
• Benzoria, a sort of witch or fairy, [236]
• Bercheur or Berchorius, his Repertorium morale, [528]
• ——, whether the author of the Gesta Romanorum, ib.
• Bermuda, island of, [3]
• Betrothing, some account of this ancient ceremony, [67], [248]
• Bestiarium, an old work on natural history, [522], [524]
• Bills, the setting up of, [101]
• Bird-bolts, explained, [102]
• Blessing of beds, an ancient ceremony, [126]
• —— of chambers, ib.
• Blue coats, [205]
• Boccaccio's novels, a very ancient English translation of them pointed out, [103]
• ——, account of the English translation of his Decameron, [382]
• Bond story in the Merchant of Venice, remarks on it, [171]
• Boot, torture of the, explained, [21]
• Bow, the awkward use of it by crowkeepers, [417]
• Bows, materials of which they were made in England, [244]
• Bras, the ancient pronunciation of this French word ascertained, [310]
• Brawl, account of this ancient dance, [134]
• Brazen tombs, meaning of this expression, [130]
• Breaking the little finger, a token of amorous dalliance, [262]
• Breeches bible, particulars relating to it, [233]
• Bridal-bed, ceremony of blessing it, [123]
• Bromyard, John, an old English preacher, his Summa prædicantium described, [526]
• Brothels, signs anciently belonging to them described, [397]
• ——, jesters employed in them, [358], [378]
• Budha, a deity of Ceylon, story of him and a hare, [10]
• Bunyan, John, supposed to have been indebted to an old romance for the materials of his Pilgrim's progress, [256]
• Burial service, particulars of it before the reformation, [222]
• C.
• Cakes and ale, old custom relating to them, [55]
• Canary dance, description of, [136]
• Candlesticks, remarks on ancient ones, [308]
• Cardanus's comforte, a book used by Shakspeare, [461]
• Carol, an ancient one, [217]
• Carpet-knights, account of, [66]
• Casket story in the Merchant of Venice, remarks on it, [169], [486]
• Cat, why the favourite of witches, [243]
• Catullus, a remarkable coincidence between a passage in this author and one in Shakspeare, [461]
• Cavendish's life of Wolsey, account of, [159]
• Cavendish, some remarks on his life of Wolsey, [344]
• Caxton's chronicle, some account of it, [260]
• ——, his chess book not didactic, [522]
• ——, not the author of a chronicle ascribed to him, [422], [512]
• Ceremonies, popular, modern corruptions in them noticed, [586]
• Chastellain, George, his account of the manner in which the duke of Gloucester was put to death, [322]
• China dishes, when first brought into England, [78]
• Chopine, description of it, [457]
• Chrisome explained, [299]
• Cilhart, the favourite hound of Prince Llewellyn, a story relating to him, [547]
• Clarence, duke of, the manner of his death, [323]
• Cleopatra, her trick upon Marc Antony, [369]
• Clerk of Chatham, in King Henry the Sixth, an unreal character, [327]
• Clown, various remarks on this character, [32], [74], [94], [151], [167], [191], [200], [224]
• Clowns in old plays, classification of them, [499]
• ——, various remarks on, [374], [387], [398], [483], [497]
• ——. See Fool.
• Clocks, their antiquity in England, [138]
• Coin with cracked edges, hoarded by usurers, [459]
• Colevile of the dale, [289]
• Combats, single, in cases of treason, ceremonies observed in them, [317], [487]
• Comet, a medal stricken to commemorate that which appeared on the death of Julius Cæsar, [364]
• Concert improperly used for consort, [314]
• Conde Lucanor, a Spanish collection of novels, [212]
• Conscience, its dispute with the flesh, the subject of an old Monkish fable, [157]
• Contest devots, account of them, [521]
• Copley, Antony, account of a work written by him, [210]
• Cornelius's tub, uncertainty of the origin of this expression, [357]
• Coroners, their conduct satirized by Shakspeare, [476]
• Corporal of the field, his office explained, [138]
• Coryat, a curious quotation from him, [330]
• Cotgrave, the first edition of his valuable dictionary, [140]
• Coventry pageants, remarks on, [217]
• —— plays, an extract from one of them, [463]
• Covercle, whence derived, [282]
• Cressets, some account of them, [264]
• Cressida, how punished for her falsehood to Troilus, [299]
• Critic on Shakspeare, a female one censured, [379]
• Cross-gartering, fashion of explained, [57]
• Crotalum, account of this ancient instrument, [509]
• Crowns of the sun, the coins so called described, [396]
• Crying clubs, illustration of that custom, [344]
• Cude Yeddy, an idiot so called, [416]
• Cupid, his golden shaft, [53], [484]
• ——, his blindness, [137]
• ——, why called a hangman, [107], [146]
• Curry favour, origin of this phrase, [291]
• Curtain formerly placed before pictures, [53]
• Cymbeline, remarks on the story of this play, [381]
• D.
• Dagonet, the fool of King Arthur in the romances of the round table, some account of him, [283], [286]
• Daiphantus, a work by Scoloker, in which Hamlet is alluded to, [465], [478]
• Dame Habunde or Abunde, a fairy, [237]
• Dance of death, account of a remarkable one, [81]
• Dancing rapier, [193]
• Danes, formerly remarkable for hard drinking, [449]
• Death and the fool, a subject borrowed from the Dance of death, [80]
• —— and the lady, old representations of, [478]
• Dedications, prices of in the time of Elizabeth, [573]
• Deer, killed by ladies in ancient times, [139]
• Despenser, Hugh le, his arraignment in the original form, [274]
• Devices, whence those of the knights in Pericles were borrowed, [392]
• Devil, his roaring, [258]
• ——'s ruff-shop, print of it, [220]
• ——s invoked by witches, account of them, [315]
• Diana, a name for Hecate in modern times, [235]
• ——, patroness of witches, [236]
• Dictionary, the first French and English, by Hollyband, afterwards amplified by Cotgrave, [140]
• Dieu et mon droit, when this motto was originally used, [248]
• Dragon on Chinese porcelain, [18]
• ——, a character in the morris dance, [600]
• Drinking horns, formerly carried by lunatics, &c., [415]
• Drinking pots with hoops, explained, [327]
• Duke, its ancient meaning, [111]
• Dun is in the mire, an old proverbial phrase, [425]
• E.
• Edward shovel-boards, [33]
• Ego et rex meus, remarks on this expression, [341]
• Elbow, rubbing the, a popular superstition, [273]
• Elf-knots, [426]
• Elf-locks, ib.
• Elf-stones, ib.
• Elizabeth, Queen, a compliment to her, [341]
• Eloisa, some compositions by her noticed, [472]
• Ephesiacs of Xenophon, a romance which is supposed to have furnished a material incident in the story of Romeo and Juliet, [436]
• Essex, Earl of, a supposed allusion to his death, [250]
• Euriphile, whence the name borrowed by Shakspeare, [378]
• Evil spirits, how the Greeks expelled them from dying persons, [326]
• Eyes, green, [30]
• ——, grey, ib.
• F.
• Fair lady of Norwich, origin of a curious story so entitled, [545]
• Fairies, delight in cleanliness, [122]
• ——, miscellaneous remarks on them, [238]
• ——, their blessing, [127]
• ——, their immortality defended, [114]
• ——, their rings, [111], [114]
• ——, their song, [51]
• Falling of the axe, this expression examined, [187]
• Falstaff, the severity of his punishment censured, [294]
• Farmer, Doctor, a mistake in a note by him pointed out, [571]
• Fascination against the influence of evil eyes, remarks on it, [303]
• Fashions in dress, the English always remarkable for their variation of them, [105]
• Fate, used by Shakspeare for fortune, and not death according to Warburton, [146]
• Father friar, this expression explained, [84]
• Favel, the ancient name of a horse, [291]
• Fica, [303]
• Ficus, remarks on the disease so called, [304]
• Fig, making the, explained, [302]
• Fig of Spain, [307]
• Finis coronat opus, remarks on this phrase, [199]
• Florio's First fruits, some account of that book, [140]
• Fool, death's, [80]
• ——, fortune's, [146]
• ——, time's, [273]
• ——, various remarks on this character, [18], [55], [74], [94], [198], [200]
• ——, Charles the First's, [502]
• ——, city and corporation, [500]
• ——, court, [502]
• ——, domestic, [499], [501]
• ——, Duke of Mantua's, story of him, [505]
• ——, Earl of Suffolk's, [503]
• ——, female, [500]
• ——, fortune's, [431]
• ——, in brothels, [358], [500]
• ——, in dumb shows at fairs, [501]
• ——, in the mysteries and moralities, [500]
• ——, Lord Mansel's, [504]
• ——, Louis the Thirteenth's, [505]
• ——, morris, [501], [592]
• ——, mountebank's, [501]
• ——, Pope's, ib.
• ——, proverb relating to him explained, [506]
• ——, Sir Thomas More's, [513]
• ——, stage, his office, [507], [514]
• ——, story of a Welsh one, [503]
• ——, strumpet's, [358], [500]
• ——, tavern, [500]
• ——, various remarks on this character, [358], [412], [419], [483], [497]
• ——, Whitson ale, [501]
• ——, William the Conqueror's, ib.
• Fool's bauble, [509]
• —— cockscomb, [508]
• —— combat with death, [394]
• —— dress, [507], [510]
• —— general mode of behaviour, [504]
• —— punishment, [505]
• Fools, begged, [148]
• ——, pre-eminence of those in Shakspeare's plays, [514]
• ——, their decline, [503], [515]
• ——. See Clowns.
• Fortunatus, origin of the story of this romance, [553]
• Fox-tails, how worn by ladies in the reign of Edward I., [512]
• French crown, [76]
• —— songs and ballads, [446], [472], [474]
• Friar and the boy, a popular story used by Shakspeare, [14]
• Frier John and frier Richard, a curious story so entitled, [392], [545]
• —— Tuck, origin of his name, [587]
• Funeral feasts, borrowed from the ancients, [439]
• G.
• Gascoine, justice, an anachronism concerning him, [293]
• Gentlemen, what they formerly were, [214], [223]
• ——, who were so formerly, [429], [476], [486]
• Gesta Romanorum, [400], [401], [402], [403], [420]
• —— ——, some account of it, [167], [170]
• —— ——, a curious story from an ancient English MS. of it, [172]
• —— ——, analysis of a work under this name composed in England, [537]
• —— ——, inquiries concerning its authors, [527], [571]
• —— ——, manuscripts of it, [531], [536], [574]
• —— ——, printed editions of it, [532], [571], [575]
• —— ——, question examined whether composed in England, [535]
• —— ——, stories from it used in the pulpit, or otherwise to entertain the monks, [527]
• —— ——, translations of it, [533], [571]
• —— ——, two works under this name, [520]
• Ghosts retire at the approach of day, [120]
• ——, damned, [466]
• ——, reasons for their appearing, [450]
• ——, why exclusively addressed by scholars, [438]
• ——, why said to fast, [451]
• ——, why they disappeared at the dawn of day, [452]
• Gilliflower, applied by Perdita to a painted woman, [219]
• Gilt two-pences, [290]
• Ginger, in great use formerly as a stomachic, [88]
• Girdle, turning of the, explained, [109]
• Gis, a corruption of Jesus, [475]
• Gloucester, duke of, discordant accounts of his death, [322]
• Giving hands, an old expression for bestowing applause, [129]
• Glow-worm's fire, [118]
• Goblin, what it signified in former times, [242]
• Golden legend, a story from that work, [239]
• Gowrie conspiracy, [213]
• Gower, supposed to have translated the Gesta Romanorum into English, [572]
• Grace, when this title was first used, [320]
• Grammatical errors in Shakspeare, [181]
• Gray, Mr., borrowed from Shakspeare, [343]
• Green sleeves, an old ballad, [37]
• —— eyes, less uncommon formerly than at present, [433]
• —— sleeves, some account of an old time so called, [484]
• Guido's painting of Bacchus and Ariadne, remarks on, [29]
• Guido of Colonna, his Troy book not an original work as usually supposed, but borrowed from Benoit de Saint More a Norman French poet, [353]
• Guillelmus Hilacensis, singular title bestowed on himself, [523]
• Guy Faux, how treated by the modern populace, [586]
• H.
• Halfpence, tearing pieces into, explained, [107]
• Halifax gibbet, [188]
• Hamlet, alluded to in Scoloker's Daiphantus, [478]
• ——, enigmatical speech by him explained, [469]
• Hamlet, his madness, [456]
• Harlequin, the successor to the old vice of our theatres, [288]
• Harry ten shillings, when first coined, [283]
• Hay, an ancient dance, a sort of brawl, [146]
• Heaping coals of fire on a person's head, explanation of this phrase, [423]
• Heart, the seat of courage among the ancients, [365]
• Hearts and hands, [482]
• Hecate, how accented by Shakspeare, [122]
• ——, her team, [121]
• ——, miscellaneous remarks on, [235]
• Helmet, some observations on this part of ancient armour, [269]
• Henbane, [452]
• ——, Shakspeare's insane root, [229]
• Heraldry ridiculed by Shakspeare, [476]
• Herb John, a proverbial expression relating to it, [481]
• Hermit of Prague, [66]
• Herne's oak, [51]
• Herod, account of his character in the old mysteries, [463]
• ——, his character in the old mysteries illustrated, [85]
• Herodias, [236], [237]
• Higa, mistake concerning its etymology, [306]
• Hobby-horse, a character in the morris dance, [595]
• Holinshed, an error in his chronicle, [297]
• Hollyband, his real name Sainliens, [139]
• Horn, romance of King, [2]
• Horned head-dresses of the ladies, [125]
• Horse, the dancing, account of, [131]
• Horses, ancient names of, [291]
• Hugo de Sancto Victore, some tales and fables ascribed to him, [524]
• Hume, Mr., a singular remark by him, [323]
• Hundred merry tales, discussion relating to them, [102]
• Hyena, [189]
• I.
• Idiots, begging of them, [148]
• Imagines Mortis, a series of prints supposed to have been known to Shakspeare, [252]
• Infamis digitus, [302]
• Israel Von Mecheln, account of a curious print engraven by him representing a morris dance, [585]
• Jachimo, remarks on this name, [375]
• Jack of the clock-house, [337]
• Janus, his double head difficult to explain, [154]
• Jesus, corruption of his name into Gis, [475]
• ——, name of, inscribed on swords, [455]
• Jews, their usury, [155]
• Joculator, ancient meaning of this word, [502]
• Jourdain, Margery, some account of her, [316]
• Judas, an allusion to him,. [215]
• K.
• Kaukie, a sort of fairies, [239]
• Killigrew, not a regular jester, [503]
• King Henry the Sixth, account of prayers composed by him, [337]
• —— —— —— ——, reasons why the whole of the plays on his reign were not written by Shakspeare, [332]
• King Lear, an unpublished story of him and his daughters, [420]
• Kirke, Colonel, his conduct misrepresented by Mr. Hume, [95]
• Kirtle, some observations on it, [282], [294]
• Kissing, part of the ancient ceremony of betrothing, [248]
• Knight, remarks on this title, [378]
• Knights topers, ceremony of dubbing them, [293]
• L.
• Labyrinthus, the author of this Latin comedy indebted to Shakspeare, [427]
• Lady of the May, [589]
• Lancaster, Duke of, an error relating to him corrected, [277]
• Lark, parallel passages relating to his singing extracted from old poets, [375]
• Lavolta, an ancient dance described, [300]
• Law of the twelve tables, permitting a creditor to mangle the debtor's body, [178]
• Lawyers compared to frogs by an old monkish writer, [528]
• Leland probably translated the Gesta Romanorum, [571], [573]
• Lenox, Mrs., the injustice of some of her criticisms on Shakspeare, [97], [110]
• Lion, generosity of this animal, [189]
• Liver, the seat of love, [38]
• Liveries of servants, [206]
• Lord of the May, [590]
• Love, blindness of, noticed by Chaucer, [138]
• Love's labour's lost, this play supposed to have been taken from a French novel, [152]
• Lowth, Bishop, mistaken in his opinion concerning wastel bread, [444]
• Lucifer the morning star, Aurora's harbinger, [120]
• Lullaby songs, remarks on them, [383]
• —— ——, specimens of, [385]
• Lydgate, his poem against horned head-dresses, [125]
• Lydgate, monk of Bury, supposed to have been concerned in an English translation of the Gesta Romanorum, [572]
• Lying at Ladies' feet, an ancient custom, [466]
• M.
• Machiavellus, an unpublished Latin play, [163]
• Maiden, an instrument for beheading criminals, some account of it, [188]
• Maid Marian, her character in the morris dance described, [588]
• Maillard, Father, his sermons resemble those of the Methodists, [88]
• Majesty, when first used as a title by sovereigns, [319]
• Making the fig, explained, [302]
• Man, how expressed in the Chinese language, [415]
• Man in the moon, remarks on him, [9]
• Manuscript, account of a beautiful one, [471]
• Manus lasciva, [303]
• Maret, fool of Louis XIII., story of him, [505]
• Marian, derivation of this name, [588]
• Marie de France, a fable written by her, [525]
• Marigold, [219]
• Markham, Jervis, author of "a health to the gentlemanly profession of serving men", [207]
• Marshall, John, some account of him, [551]
• Mary, when this name first used, [589]
• Masks, [28]
• Masques, representations of ancient, [425]
• Matachins, dance of, [578]
• May-dew on fairy rings, superstition relating to it, [112]
• May games, [581], [584]
• —— —— censured by the Puritans, [595]
• May lady, [589]
• Measure for measure, remarks on the story of it, [94]
• —— —— ——, a story resembling its plot, [484]
• Medlars, some remarks on them, [186]
• Merchant of Venice, remarks on the story of it, [167]
• Merchant, particular application of this word in the time of Shakspeare, [429]
• Mill-sixpences, [33]
• Milton imitates Shakspeare, [113], [117], [130]
• Minstrels, some remarks on them, [216]
• Misletoe, ancient prejudice against the berries of it, [386]
• Moidor, its etymology, [309]
• Monarch of the North, a Devil invoked by witches, [315]
• Monkies, the ancient manner of retaining them, [335]
• Montfaucon, a mistake by him pointed out, [455]
• Moon, eclipse of, ideas of various nations concerning it, [18]
• Moon, how represented by the Chinese, [10], [243]
• —— —— —— by the Egyptians, [243]
• ——, its moisture, [116]
• ——, use of it among witches, [16]
• Mooncalf, [9]
• Morality, singular incident in one, [515]
• Moralizations, the practice of adding them to various works in former times, [522]
• Morris dance, characters of which it was composed, [586]
• —— ——, different sorts of it described, [581]
• —— ——, etymology of, [572]
• —— ——, French, [579]
• —— ——, music to a French one, [580]
• —— ——, origin of, [577]
• —— ——, representations of it described, [584]
• —— ——, when first introduced into England, [580]
• Morris dancers described, [601]
• Morton, Earl of, the manner of his execution, [188]
• Mother Bombie, [64]
• Mother Cole, some resemblance between her character and that of Falstaff, [276]
• Muffler, description of this article of female dress, [47]
• Muckle John, fool of Charles I., [502]
• Music, defence of it, against Lord Chesterfield and Mr. Steevens, [165]
• N.
• Naked man with shears, this emblem of the versatility of fashion not peculiar to the English, [106]
• Nashe, a story from his Lenten stuffe, [368]
• Needle-work, ancient, some account of it, [59]
• Neptune, converted into a mischievous fairy, [240]
• Nicholas, Saint, why the patron of scholars, [26]
• Nicholas's clerks, a name for highwaymen, [27]
• Nicneven, [237]
• Night-mare, charm against it, [126]
• Night spells, [127]
• Nine men's morris, an account of this game and of the origin of the term, [114]
• Norman drinking song, [447]
• North, monarch of the, a Devil so called, [315]
• Northbrooke, John, a puritanical writer in the manner of Stubbes, [135]
• O.
• Oberon, king of the fairies, [113]
• Occleve, indebted to the Gesta Romanorum for two of his stories, [552], [570]
• Occleve, supposed to have translated the Gesta Romanorum into English, [572]
• Odo de Ceriton, his tales and fables, [524]
• —— —— —— —— —— —— ——, specimens of them, [525]
• Orleans, duke of, account of his poems, [471]
• Ovid, his Metamorphoses moralized, [522]
• P.
• Pageant of the nine worthies, [149]
• —— of the sea, [154]
• Painters, their errors in costume, [490]
• Pandarus, an allusion to him, [311]
• Paradin's heroical devises, a book probably used by the author of Pericles, [392]
• Parke's Curtaine drawer of the world, a book of great merit, [116]
• ——, William, quotations from his Curtaine drawer of the world, [360], [418]
• Partizan, a different weapon from the pike, [370]
• Passameasure, music to an old dance so called, [281]
• Patch, not the real name of a fool as commonly supposed, [158]
• Patenson, the fool of Sir Thomas More, [513]
• Paul's, St., cathedral, bills formerly stuck up there as now at the Royal Exchange, [101]
• Pavan, an ancient dance, [72]
• Peacock pie, [448]
• Pengelden, Rees, a Welsh fool, story of him, [503]
• Penmanship in the time of Elizabeth remarkably beautiful, [87]
• Pentapolis, account of, [388]
• Pericles, the story of this play examined, [398]
• Perseus and Andromeda, errors of artists in representing the story of it, [348]
• Perseus's horse, a critique on it, [347]
• Perspective glasses, [73]
• Pheasant pie, [448]
• Phrases, particular ones in the mouths of theatrical characters, [37]
• Physicians formerly attended by servants to carry their swords, ib.
• Picture of old Adam new apparelled, [226]
• Pillory, remarks on this mode of punishment, [90]
• ——, several specimens of it represented, [91]
• Platting of horses' manes, a superstitious notion explained, [425]
• Players censured for their stage interpolations, [498]
• Poking-sticks, [220]
• Poor Tom, hints for dressing this character on the stage, [415]
• Preachers, account of ancient, [523]
• ——, their custom of introducing stories into their sermons, [521]
• Proverbs, old ones explained, [506], [525]
• Provincial roses, account of, [467]
• Provost, the story of one, [87]
• Punch, Dr. Johnson mistaken in his opinion concerning the origin of this theatrical character, [469]
• Purgatory, allusions to it in Measure for measure, [82]
• Puritans burlesqued the music of the Papists, [218]
• Putscet, a deity of the Samogitæ, [239]
• Q.
• Quail-fighting, remarks on, [367]
• Queen of Sheba, an ancient sign, explained, [61]
• R.
• Raoul le Fevre, account of his history of Troy, [354]
• Rapier, account of this weapon, [39]
• ——, engraving of an old one, [279]
• Receipt to make men seem like horses, [484]
• Red, an emblem of courage, [156]
• Reels danced by witches, [370]
• Retainers, a sort of servants, [206]
• Reynard the fox, when this romance was composed, [526]
• Richard III., his deformity, [335]
• Riddles, their occasional introduction into ancient romances, [389]
• Riding the wild mare, a childish sport, [282]
• Rings interchanged on betrothing, [68]
• Ritson, Mr., a mistake by him corrected, [605]
• Rivets in armour, when closed up, [308]
• Robin Rush, the idiot fool of Lord Bussy Mansel, [504]
• Robinson, Richard, account of a work by him, [285]
• —— ——, prices of his dedications, [574]
• —— ——, some curious works by him specified, [573]
• Rome, pronunciation of this word in Shakspeare's time, [364]
• Romeo and Juliet, the original story of this play borrowed in part from a Greek romance, [436]
• Rosemary, a token of remembrance, [218]
• ——, its use at funerals, [434]
• Roses of Provins, [467]
• Rowe, his edition of Shakspeare curious for the prints, [489]
• Ruffs, satirized in old prints, [220]
• Rushes, custom of strewing them in halls, &c., [294]
• Rush ring marriages, explained, [194]
• S.
• Sack, remarks on it, [256]
• Sackvile's Complaynt of the duke of Bvckingham, a poem ridiculed by Shakspeare, [281]
• Saint Helen's fire, a meteor, [3]
• Satyr's dance, [222]
• Scoloker, Antony, his Daiphantu, [465], [478]
• Seldom comes the better, explanation of this phrase, [333]
• Seven wise masters, the Gesta Romanorum indebted to it, [544], [547]
• Setebos, [7]
• Senile odium, of Stubbes, quoted, [129]
• Sexten, a fool belonging to Wolsey, [158]
• Shakspeare, his grammatical errors, [181]
• ——, his correct knowledge of the ceremonies belonging to the Romish Church, [325]
• ——, his metaphors often careless and confused, [338]
• ——, ridiculed by Fletcher, [451], [452]
• ——, the quarto editions of his plays full of typographical errors, [463]
• Sheriff's fool, [198]
• Shields in heraldry, conjectures on their origin, [477]
• Ship of fools, by Brandt, cited, [510]
• —— —— ——, English prose translation of it by Watson, [462]
• Shove-groat, an ancient game, [279]
• Shovel-board, an ancient game, ib.
• Shylock, what his stage dress should be, [155]
• Sidney, Sir Philip, reprobated the custom of introducing fools on the stage, [498]
• Sights, remarkable love for strange ones among the English, [9]
• Sir Isumbras, an incident in one of the stories in the Gesta Romanorum, borrowed from that romance, [543]
• Sleep, death's counterfeit, [232]
• Slide-groat, an ancient game, [279]
• Solomon's judgment, stories in imitation of it, [550]
• Somers, Will, portraits of him described, [336], [512]
• Somner, Mr., his erroneous opinion on wastel bread, [446]
• Songs, ancient, [385], [414], [433], [447], [474]
• Southern wind, destructive, [6]
• Spirits belonging to magicians, [5]
• Staff tipped with horn, explained, [109]
• Stag, his secretion of tears, [183]
• Stalking-horses, bulls, &c., [106]
• Stanihurst's Virgil, passages from it, [249]
• Stars on ancient medals, expressive of immortality, [397]
• Stone, a celebrated fool, [505]
• Stones, superstitions relating to them, [426], [453]
• Stothard, Mr., his painting of Chaucer's pilgrims, [490]
• Stowe, an error in his Annals pointed out, [290]
• ——, engraving of an initial letter in his Survey of London, [81]
• Straparola, his novels quoted, [212]
• Strappado, a military torture explained, [263]
• Stumble at the threshold, explanation of this phrase, [331]
• Suicides how buried formerly, [476]
• Swan, the death-song of this bird mentioned in various authors, [161]
• Swan's Speculum mundi, cited for some lines in Shakspeare with variations, [428]
• Sword and buckler, remarks on their use, [259]
• Sword, used as a bridge by heroes of ancient chivalry, ib.
• ——, swearing by it, [455]
• Swords, mottoes on them, [279]
• Symposii ænigmata, some account of the work so called, [399]
• T.
• Table books, description of those used in Shakspeare's time, [454]
• Tabor, an instrument used by fools, [61]
• Tabourot, the earliest writer on dancing, [579]
• Taming of the shrew, stories resembling that of the induction to this play, [211]
• —— —— —— ——, outline of the play itself in a Spanish work, [212]
• Tempest, whence the construction of this play was suggested, [4]
• Theobald defended against Warburton, [218]
• Thor's hammers, stones so called that were supposed to control the manes of the dead, [453]
• Thunderbolt, superstitions relating to it, [369]
• Time's fool, [273]
• Timon of Athens, his epitaph, [358]
• Toad, remarks on the supposed stone or jewel in its head, [181]
• Tollett, Mr., remarks on his curious painting on glass of a morris dance, [584]
• Tom Piper, a character in the morris dance, [595]
• Torch bearers at masques, account of, [424]
• Touchstone, his real character, [181]
• Trencher-scraping, [11]
• Tristan de Leonnois, a riddle from that romance, [389]
• Trinculo, how he should be dressed on the stage, [12], [18]
• Troilus and Cressida, the origin of their story examined, [352]
• Troth-plighting, [24]
• Troy, the names of its gates borrowed by Shakspeare from Caxton's Recuyles or destruction of Troy, and not from Lydgate, [346]
• ——, the siege of it a frequent subject on old tapestry, [346]
• Trump, an ancient game at cards explained, [374]
• Tyrants in the old mysteries, great swearers, [85]
• Tyrian tapestry, explained, [204]
• U.
• Ucalegon, Dr. Bentley mistaken in his conception of that character, [277]
• Unities, neglected by the ancient theatrical writers, [296]
• Urchins' dance, [7]
• Urinals, the portraits of physicians anciently represented with them, [45]
• Usurers, some of their practices described, [459]
• Valentine, a palace so called at Turin, [472]
• Valentine and Orson, some editions of this romance specified, [462]
• Valentines, custom of choosing examined, [470]
• Vice of the old moralities, etymologically considered, [287]
• ——, an ancient theatrical character, [500], [510]
• Virgil's gnat, some account of it, [548]
• Vow of the peacock, [290]
• W.
• Wandering knight, the name of a spiritual romance, [255]
• Warton, Mr., character of his History of English poetry, [519]
• Warburton, his hyper-criticisms, [217], [294]
• Wassel, the origin and meaning of this word, [441]
• Wastel bread, explained, [444]
• Watson, translated Valentine and Orson, and The ship of fools, [462]
• Watts, Mr., his erroneous account of wastel bread, [445]
• Wax tablets, some account of, [455]
• We three, picture of, [54]
• Whale to virginity, meaning of this phrase, [199]
• Whitney's emblems, probably used by the author of Pericles, [393]
• Wicliffe's bible, an invaluable monument of the English language, [251]
• Will the taborer, a Welsh fool, [504]
• Williames, a fool belonging to Wolsey, [158]
• Willow-garlands, the custom of wearing them explained, [104], [164]
• Wind, an image relating to it, [482]
• Wine, formerly made in England, [449]
• Winter's tale, character of it, [224]
• Wise woman, [60], [63]
• Wits, fittes and fancies, account of a book so called, [210]
• —— —— —— ——, a story from that work, [468]
• Wolsey, Cardinal, account of his fools, [158]
• —— ——, articles against him, [341]
• —— ——, improperly censured for placing a cardinal's hat on his coins, [343]
• —— ——, Shakspeare's allusion to a strumpet kept by him, [341]
• X.
• Xenophon of Ephesus, a romance written by him supposed to have been used by the author of the story of Romeo and Juliet, [436]
• ——, Two of the incidents in his Ephesiacs occur in Cymbeline, [437]
• Y.
• Yellow, an epithet applied to jealousy, [105]
• Yew, bows made of it, [245]
• ——, connected with witchcraft, [244]
• ——, why planted in church-yards, ib.
• Younger brothers, their servile degradation in former times, [208]
• Z.
• Zimimar, monarch of the North, a Devil invoked by witches, [315]

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