2099. spered, for sperred, fastened; F. ferma. See l. 3320.
2141. I supply sinne; perhaps the exact word is erre, as suggested by Urry; F. 'Tost porroie issir de la voie.'
2154. Read ginn'th; only one syllable is wanted here. Cf. l. 2168.
2161. poyntith ille, punctuates badly. This is a remarkable statement. As the old MSS. had no punctuation at all, the responsibility in this respect fell entirely on the reader. Ll. 2157-62 are not in the French.
2170. Romaunce, the Romance language, Old French.
2190. This important passage is parallel to one in the Wife of
Bath's Tale, D 1109. Ll. 2185-2202 are not in the French; so they may have been suggested by Chaucer's Tale.
2203. 'Gravis est culpa, tacenda loqui'; Ovid, Ars Amat. ii. 604.
2206. Keye, Sir Kay, one of the knights of the Round Table, who was noted for his discourtesy. For his rough treatment of Sir Beaumains, see Sir T. Malory's Morte d'Arthur, bk. vii. c. 1. On the other hand, Sir Gawain was famed for his courtesy; see Squi. Ta. F 95.
2271. The word aumenere is here used, as in l. 2087 above, to translate the F. aumosniere or aumoniere. In Th., it is miswritten aumere, and in G. it appears as awmere. Hence awmere has gained a place in the New E. Dict., to which it is certainly not entitled. It is not a 'contraction for awmenere,' as is there said, but a mere blunder.