[2563]. Danao, Danaus. Danaus and Ægyptus were twin brothers. Ægyptus had 50 sons, and Danaus 50 daughters. Danaus had reason to fear his nephews, and fled with his daughters to Argos. Thither he was followed by the sons of Ægyptus, who demanded his daughters in marriage, and promised faithful alliance. Danaus distributed his daughters amongst them, but to each of them gave a dagger, with which they were to kill their husbands on the bridal night. They all did so, except Hypermnestra, who saved her husband Lynceus. Thus the attempt of Danaus failed, and he was slain by Lynceus, in accordance with the destiny predicted for him.
It must be particularly noted that Chaucer makes Ægyptus and Danaus change places. According to him, Ægyptus was the father of the daughters, and consequently attempted the life of Lynceus; whilst Danaus was the father of the sons, and therefore of Lynceus.
[2569]. Lino; by which perverted name Lynceus is meant; Boccaccio has 'Lino seu Linceo' (dat. case).
[2570]. Egiste represents Boccaccio's Ægistus, i.e. Ægyptus.
[2574]. 'And caused (men) to call her,' i.e. had her named.
[2575]. Ypermistra, i.e. Hypermestra, a corrupter form of Hypermnestra; see the account in the Introduction. Note that the first syllable Y- forms the first foot in the line.
[2576]. Of her nativitee, by her horoscope; see l. 2584.
[2577]. Thewes, qualities. Craik has a long note on this word in his edition of Julius Cæsar. It merely comes to this, that thew must have meant strength or some excellent bodily quality in the first instance, and some excellent mental quality afterwards. Nevertheless it is remarkable that (with one exception in Layamon, 6361) the usual old sense is the latter; and the usual modern sense (notably in Jul. Cæs. i. 3. 81, 2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 276) is the former. The A.S. form is þéaw. Craik's notion that this word was confused with A.S. þéoh, the thigh, is entirely out of the question, and gives no help.
[2580]. Wirdes, Fates; Lat. Parcæ; Gk. Moiræ. Corson shews that G. Douglas translates the Lat. fata by werdes in Æn. i. 18, and Parcæ by werd sisteris in the same, iii. 379. He also quotes from Holinshed's Hist. of Scotland—'the weird sisters, that is, as ye would say, the goddesses of destinie'; reproduced by Shakespeare in Macb. iv. 1. 136.
[2582]. The scansion suggests that Pitous-e, sad-de, are treated like French adjectives, the final e denoting the feminine gender. This is natural in the case of pitous-e, fem. of pitous, just as we have dispitous-e, Book of the Duch. 624; but the distinction is not often made in M.E. Sweet's A.S. grammar gives til-u as an occasional fem. form of the nom. of the indef. adjective; so that sæd-u might have been used. Wys-e is likewise dissyllabic, though the A.S. form was wís even in the feminine. But the definite forms of the M.E. adj. were sad-de, wys-e; and there may have been consequent confusion. In fact, Prof. Child gives a list of adjectives of this kind, being monosyllabic in A.S., but dissyllabic in Chaucer. He includes wise, but not sad, his examples being taken from the Canterbury Tales only, and thence only in clear cases. Dispitous-e occurs as a vocative case, in Troil. ii. 435.