On the whole, we fairly suppose Chaucer's meaning to be, that before
the feast concluded, it was not only past noon, but nearly two hours past noon.
269. chambre of parements. Tyrwhitt's note is—'Chambre de parement is translated by Cotgrave, the presence-chambre, and lit de parement, a bed of state. Parements originally signified all sorts of ornamental furniture or clothes, from Fr. parer, to adorn. See Kn. Ta. 1643 (A. 2501), and Legend of Good Women; Dido, l. 181.' He adds that the Italians use camera de' paramenti in the same sense.
272. Venus children, the worshippers or subjects, of Venus. It merely means the knights and ladies at the feast, whose thoughts then turned upon love, because the season was astrologically favourable for it; cf. Kn. Tale, 1628, 1629 (A. 2486). The reason is given in l. 273, viz. that 'hir lady,' i. e. their lady or goddess, as represented by the planet Venus, was then situate in the sign Pisces. This sign, in astrology, is called the 'exaltation' of Venus, or the sign in which she exerts most power. Hence the expression ful hye, and the statement that Venus regarded her servants with a friendly aspect. In the Wyf of Bathes Prol. (D. 704), Chaucer has the line—
'In Pisces, wher Venus is exaltat.'
'Who will not commend the wit of astrology? Venus, born out of the sea, hath her exaltation in Pisces'; Sir T. Browne, Works, ed. Wilkin, iv. 382.
287. Lancelot, the celebrated lover of queen Guinever in the Arthur romances. Cp. Dante, Inf. v. 128.
291. 'The steward bids (them) to be quick with the spices.' Cf. Joseph of Arimathea, ed. Skeat, note to l. 698. And see vol. ii. 506.
300. Hath is here used like the mod. F. il y a, for which O. F. often has a only. The sense is—'there is plenty.' The idiom is borrowed from French, and the text is correct. (I owe this note to a friend.)
316. 'You must twirl round a pin (which) stands in his ear.'